A longstanding teacher trade unionist and political activist, María Eugenia Londoño was elected in March this year as a senator for the progressive Historic Pact party which is now the biggest single political party in Congress, bringing together most of the forces that supported former president Gustavo Petro. She is one of Colombia’s first trade union leaders to be elected to Congress.
Prior to her election, María Eugenia was on the executive of the Colombian Federation of Education Workers (FECODE), the largest single-sector trade union organisation in the country. FECODE has played a leading role in the struggle for peace and social change in Colombia, advocating for schools to be recognised as ‘spaces of peace’, and struggling for better pay and conditions for teachers, higher investment in public education and an end to stigmatisation of teacher trade unionists. It has also backed the peace process and the progressive Petro government. FECODE’s determined stance on these issues has converted it into a favourite target of right-wing forces, whether through aggressive smears aimed at its members or the raid on its offices over its support for Petro in which no evidence of wrongdoing was found.
While FECODE had some areas of debate with Petro’s government, FECODE remained close to it, contributing to drafting groundbreaking reforms in labour and education . However, the election of the far right Abelardo de la Espriella is almost certain to reignite longstanding antagonisms, because FECODE’s position has always been a thorn in the side of militarist and anti-democratic forces. With an agenda focused on security and using the language of intolerance De la Espriella promises cuts to state investment and public sector jobs, with poverty, job insecurity and stigmatisation therefore likely to rise. Colombian teachers may soon find themselves back on the streets to defend the hard-won gains made under Petro.
María Eugenia is no stranger to the aggression faced by teachers. She has received multiple threats and in 2018 survived an assassination attempt when she was shot at in Bogota. Many FECODE members have not been so lucky. A FECODE report to the JEP transitional justice court found that over 1,000 teachers were murdered or disappeared between 1984 and 2010. Thousands more were threatened, displaced, arbitrarily detained or assaulted.
As a trade unionist and now as a politician, María Eugenia is determined to see a fairer society for all Colombians. She spoke to JFC about what lies ahead.
“Colombia’s new government has authoritarian, neo-fascist and neoliberal tendencies. It wants to reverse the social, democratic and labour progress made under Gustavo Petro’s Historic Pact and return power to the economic elite, corporate media and foreign interests. The new government plans to restrict collective bargaining and force economic hardship on workers. We must defend dignified work, job stability, freedom of association, education, public health, pensions and the right to protest.
The 2016 peace agreement is under threat if De la Espriella prevents its implementation. This will impact the reintegration of former guerrillas, rural reform, the removal of illicit economies, reparation for victims and guarantees of non-repetition. But the agreement is a constitutional obligation of the Colombian State.
While we will mobilise peacefully and democratically, we’re worried about the criminalisation of social protest and security doctrines focused on the ‘internal enemy.’ De la Espriella’s rhetoric promotes militarisation of public space and persecution of the left. Historically, this has legitimised targeting of unions, students, peasant farmers and indigenous communities. The government is reforming repressive riot police units behind [historic] human rights violations and excessive use of force.
As the main parliamentary force, the Historic Pact represents millions of citizens who support peace, social justice and sovereignty. In opposition, we will resist regressive laws and defend social progress. We need a common agenda coordinated together with the peasantry, young people, women, ethnic groups, informal workers, pensioners and working-class communities. The new government will prioritise the private sector and attack the concept of education as a fundamental right that reduces social inequalities.”
Maria Eugenia sees an important role for international solidarity under a Colombian government that has begun to stigmatise trade unions and other social movements, and which many fear will go back to the violent and repressive tactics of the past.
“We will build international solidarity with trade unions and human rights organisations like Justice for Colombia. International allies can support human rights, social protest, freedom of association and the peace process [in Colombia].”
Like many Colombian trade unionists Maria Eugenia remains steadfast in the face of the challenges to come. She notes that the Colombian union movement and its allies across society are well organised, and there is still hope.
“The democratic and progressive forces of Colombia are still strong. Our progressive movement has not disappeared with the electoral defeat. Colombia shows it is possible to strengthen rights, dignify work, recognise excluded communities, achieve a political solution to conflict and build sovereign international relations. Those achievements do not belong to any government, they are the legacy of the Colombian people.”