Colombia's Petro calls referendum for stalled health, labor reforms

BOGOTA (Reuters) -Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Tuesday that he would call a national referendum so that voters can weigh in on his embattled health and labor reforms amid a lack of support for the proposals in the country's legislature.

The president did not immediately specify whether the reforms would be withdrawn from Congress, where he has struggled to push through the bills, which he says are necessary to fight deep inequality and lower poverty.

"Let the people decide," Petro, Colombia's first leftist president, told reporters.

The long-stalled reform to the health sector aims to strip power from insurers and expand access to healthcare, while the labor reform would reduce working hours and boost overtime pay.

Petro's decision came hours after eight members of a 14-member Senate committee announced they would present a proposal to reject the government's proposed labor reform for a second time.

(Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra; Editing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle)

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