Teachers laid down work on Wednesday for the first major strike since Colombia’s first leftist president in history took office.
The strike was organized by teachers union Fecode in response to the government’s refusal to withdraw a proposal to an education reform.
Members of Fecode, one of Colombia’s strongest unions, voted to “take Bogota” on Monday if Education Minister Aurora Vergara refuses to withdraw the reform proposal.
According to Fecode and coalition congressmen, changes made to the reform in order to obtain the support of conservative and far-right senators created a “Frankenstein.”
House Representative Santiago Osorio, who sponsored the original reform, called on coalition senators to either try to revert the changes made by the minister and the opposition or sink the bill as a whole.
On Twitter, Osorio said that the original education bill sought to “establish and organize an equitable, inclusive and quality education system, built on decades of struggle” by teachers.
The compromise agreed between the minister and the opposition includes the “opening of education to the market under the pretext of improving quality,” which would make it more difficult for poor people to get decent education, and higher education in particular.
Fecode and Osorio additionally accused Vergara of agreeing to the controversial compromises without consulting with the teachers and their union.
Last but not least, the teachers expressed discontent about ongoing problems about healthcare for the education sector.
The pending reform and the strikes affect the families of an estimated five million children who rely on public school for their education.