Since the second half of the 20th century, social protest has been consolidated as a form of collective action that impacts and transforms the dynamics of modern societies, becoming agents of change in different States. Episodes such as the so-called French “May 68” or the environmental movement in the 1970s were the spearhead for the later birth of movements that question the status quo and the way in which state governments respond from society. to the demands and needs of its citizens. The present work, in a first part, willreview the different theoretical approaches on Social Movements and their various forms of action and denomination, as well as the most important collective action movements in the world, Latin America and Colombia. At the end of the work, the way in which all the forms of collective action discussed above have caused an impact on Colombian society and on its model of social protest and how this is an outstanding debt that the State has with its citizens will be analyzed.