Cartagena coachmen announce march and indefinite hunger strike this Monday

This Monday December 29the city of Cartagena will see in circulation the electric cars in the Historic Center, as announced by the Mayor’s Office. That same day the decree prohibiting the circulation of animal traction floats in the Historic Center and its walled area.

In the last hours, the Cartagena Association of Coachmen (Asocarcoch) announced that for this date it will carry out a march in rejection of part of the transition project from horse-drawn cars to electric vehicles.

The day is scheduled to start this Monday at 8:00 in the morning. The starting point will be Apollo Parkin the neighborhood Goatherdand will tour several squares of the Historic Center, where the protesters would carry out a indefinite hunger strike. According to the official statement from Asocarcoch, the demonstration would not end until it had the presence and intervention of national authorities.

Additionally, the association maintained that the recent actions of the Mayor’s Office apparently affect the livelihood of many families linked to this activity.

Yesid Sotopresident of the Association, expressed his presumption about the District’s intentions regarding the project:

«What does the mayor of Cartagena intend? He expects us to deliver the cars and he is going to deliver the electric floats to us, but those electric floats are not our property. They are owned by the Mayor’s Office of Cartagena..

Soto added:

«Today our cars are ours. So, we are not going to hand over our assets to manage cars that belong to the Mayor’s Office of Cartagena. “I know where this is going, and tomorrow the Mayor’s Office is going to look for an operator to manage those cars, and we are given the kick later because we are not owners of the cars.”.

Read more about: Cartagena says goodbye to horse carriages and opts for electric cars

This is not the first time that the coachmen issue accusations against the Cartagena authorities.

In the middle of December 2025the same spokespersons reported from their official accounts an alleged unfair competition in the bonding process to drive electric cars. In that statement they clarified that they are not opposed to the initiative that seeks to improve the quality of life of horses, but they pointed out apparent lack of coordination and possible legal inconsistencies.

Dialogues with other coachmen

It is worth mentioning that the coachmen who carried out this demonstration are part of the group that does not participate in the transition project that is currently underway. In contrast, in the last few hours it was learned that those who are linked to the new strategy held dialogue meetings with the District authorities to resolve concerns about circulation schedules, routes and commercial restrictions.

Precisely, Jose Ricaurtedirector of Administrative Department of Transit and Transportation (DATT)assured:

“Currently, the coach drivers who said yes to the initiative have a positive experience in the operation of these vehicles, which guarantees their safety, offers better working conditions and expands their job opportunities”.

Regarding the march scheduled for this Monday, December 29, it was learned that the mayor of Cartagena, Dumek Turbaycould be pronounced in the next few hours.

For now, the transition project from coach horses to electric cars continues on its schedule. This Monday the decree that definitively prohibits the circulation of animal-drawn floats in the Historic Center and the walled area comes into effect. He pilot plan will be developed during the first months of 2026a period in which the Mayor’s Office assured that, at specific times, the routes will be completely free for locals and tourists.