Colombian President Gustavo Petro signing a decree to call for a referendum on labor reform, July 2025. Photo: Presidency of Colombia.
Colombian Minister of Justice and Law Eduardo Montealegre made public a draft bill to convene a National Constituent Assembly, one of President Gustavo Petro’s most ambitious proposals to reform the country’s institutional and constitutional framework.
According to the official document released on Thursday, October 23, the draft is not yet a final text ready for direct submission to Congress, but rather a basis for launching a public deliberation process and collecting citizens’ signatures in support of it.
The provision stipulates that the Constituent Assembly would be composed of 71 delegates, elected on a basis of gender parity between men and women, along with representation for individuals who do not identify within binary gender classifications.
The text states that the constituent assembly would have the power to comprehensively reform the 1991 Constitution, although with clear limits: it must respect international human rights treaties, norms of jus cogens (international norms,) the prohibition of setbacks in fundamental rights, and the principle of non-regression in social rights.
Additionally, the proposal included stipulations that the assembly would operate for three months from its inauguration, which would take place 30 calendar days after the election of its delegates.
Montealegre justified his proposal by arguing that certain provisions of the current Constitution no longer reflect 21st-century realities and have been used by conservative factions to block social reforms.
President Gustavo Petro clarified that the draft may be revised by the social organizations that would be part of the pro-constituent committee, which will collect signatures. He said that the text will follow constitutional procedures, including a popular initiative before Congress.
El borrador que hace el ministro de justicia será corregido por las organizaciones sociales que configuren el comité pro constituyente que recogerá las firmas.
El texto se presentará al congreso, como ordena la constitución y será de iniciativa popular. Cualquier ciudadano(a),… https://t.co/hCJBeBKq4W
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) October 23, 2025
The Colombian Constitution (Article 376) recognizes the Constituent Assembly as a mechanism for adopting an entirely new Constitution, but requires its convocation by popular initiative or submission to Congress.
The Ministry of Justice stated in its explanatory memorandum that the Constitution is a “living being” that must adapt to historical developments and cannot remain static amid social change.
(Telesur)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/DZ
