In Colombia, thousands of people have protested against the reform plans of the new left-wing President Gustavo Petro.

In the capital Bogotá, demonstrators whistled through the old town on Monday to the presidential palace, where they shouted "Petro out".

“Colombia is going under.

We can't allow that," said 55-year-old businesswoman Marta Segura, who said she had to lay off two of her seven employees because of a planned tax reform.

These were the first protests against Petro since he took office in August.

There were also demonstrations in other cities such as Medellín or Bucaramanga.

In Cali, hundreds of white-clad demonstrators held up placards with inscriptions such as "Respect private property" or "Petro encourages crime rather than production".

Petro won the runoff for the Colombian presidency against millionaire Rodolfo Hernández in June and succeeded the unpopular conservative Iván Duque in August.

Petro's reform plans include higher taxes for the wealthy, an emergency program against hunger, the move away from oil and gas and the promotion of renewable energies.

He is supported by a left-leaning majority in Parliament.