Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s president, wants to smother the gig economy

On February 22nd fleets of taxi drivers went on strike and tried to block roads in over two dozen cities in Colombia. Their beef was with Gustavo Petro, the country’s recently elected left-wing president. They cheered when Mr Petro’s administration said that it was going to regulate transport apps, such as Didi and Uber, which are illegal in the country. But his government’s proposals, which were leaked in January, created uproar among ordinary Colombians: one draft suggested they would have fined users 10m pesos ($2,000) and blocked the apps. After hundreds of gig workers took to the streets in January Mr Petro put his plans on hold. On the evening of February 22nd the transport minister met striking taxi-drivers; they will now hash out a plan. The furore offers a hint of the political chaos that could become a feature of Mr Petro’s time in office.