Spanish
Thousands of people, with diverse political ideas and flags of all colors, walked this Sunday along the Séptima avenue in Bogotá in a mobilization of support for Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, seriously injured on Saturday in an attack, and in defense of Colombian democracy against the threat of political violence.
The march, which started on 72nd Street and covered about 40 blocks to the Fundación Santa Fe, where Uribe, 39, remains in a state of "maximum severity" and "the prognosis is guarded", became an act of civic unity.
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During the march, a group of people carried with joint effort a Colombian tricolor flag several meters long, which waved among the protesters as a symbol of peaceful resistance and love for the homeland.
On a Sunday where Bogotá usually breathes music, market, and recreation, this time the ciclovía transformed into a silent human river, interrupted only by patriotic songs, shouts of "Miguel, friend, Colombia is with you!" and proclamations like "A united Colombia will never be defeated!".
Memory of the Murdered Mother
At the height of 93rd Street, the demonstration stopped in front of the sculpture of journalist Diana Turbay —mother of the senator, kidnapped and murdered in 1991 by drug trafficking—, where attendees sang the national anthem a capella. Some cried and others simply closed their eyes and gripped their flags tightly.
They also stopped further ahead in front of the Army's North Canton, where the thousands of protesters, encouraged by the car horns on the other side of the road, shouted to the soldiers: "You are not alone" in the fight against violence.
The Uribista Democratic Center party, of which Uribe Turbay is a presidential pre-candidate for the 2026 elections, is a staunch defender of the role of the Armed Forces in maintaining peace and order and a severe opponent of the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro.
"We have to look deep within ourselves, decide who we want to be. This madness of daily aggression by the president against all Colombians has to stop," declared former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt to EFE, who also marched very emotionally and in tears.
"The real division here is between those who defend democracy and those who want to establish a tyranny," added Betancourt, who spent more than six years kidnapped by the FARC guerrillas.
Among the crowd, there was also Verónica Barquero, a Costa Rican citizen and mother of Colombians: "My children are Colombian and my heart is Colombian. I march for peace, for democracy, and for Miguel Uribe's health," she said.
Exciting arrival at the hospital
As the protesters approached the Santa Fe Foundation, the demands increased and the hundreds of people who had been gathered at the doors of the medical center since early morning joined in.
With tears, emotion, and strength, the thousands of flag bearers walked to the entrance of the parking lot where the ambulance that transported the injured senator entered last night.
"You are not alone, Colombia is with you," they shouted at the hospital facade, before singing the Colombian anthem again and praying the Lord's Prayer in unison for Uribe Turbay. The Prosecutor's Office confirmed that the perpetrator of the attack is a 15-year-old minor, which has raised alarms about the manipulation of minors in criminality.Despite the blow, the country seemed to find itself again for a few hours in its unanimous rejection of violence.
In the march there were no parties or labels, only a wounded but firm country walking at the same pace to demand the non-repetition of the worst times of Colombian violence.
There were also demonstrations in other Colombian cities, such as Cali, where hundreds of people gathered in the Plazoleta Jairo Varela.
"The message is clear: first, a total rejection of acts of violence, death cannot gain ground in a country where life must prevail (...) And second, a message of we are going to start talking to each other with more love and with more respect," said Jhon Eider Viáfara Quiñones, a participant in the concentration, to EFE.
