The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, sparked an intense debate on social networks last Friday by making public some statements about the country’s economic situation during his mandate. In his message, Petro mentioned that upon taking office he found “billion-dollar debts” and criticized previous budget management.
These statements arose in response to the recent report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which pointed out the need to promote public policies to overcome an economic stagnation that has persisted for several years in Colombia.
“We receive a country with a budget reality managed by kicks, with nearly one hundred billion in hidden debts, pledged, and with use of the treasury dedicated exclusively to the big businesses of the national contracting cartel,” said President Petro.
We receive a country with a budgetary reality managed by the bootstraps with nearly one hundred billion of hidden debts, pawned, and with the use of the treasury dedicated exclusively to the big businesses of the national cartel of highway contracting, health, electrical energy.…
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) March 29, 2024
The president also mentioned the billion-dollar losses in sectors such as road infrastructure, health and electrical energy. These comments generated immediate responses from several former state officials, including former Minister of Commerce, José Manuel Restrepo.
Restrepo urged the president to conduct a complete and detailed reading of the IMF report, suggesting that it highlighted positive aspects of the country’s economic past and current challenges. In addition, he highlighted the adequate macroeconomic management that has allowed the fiscal and current account balances to improve in recent years.
On the other hand, Juan Camilo Restrepo, former Minister of Agriculture and former head of the Government’s negotiating team with the ELN, questioned where Petro got the figure of “one hundred billion hidden debts from the public treasury”, describing these statements as “something very serious.” .
The debate continued on social networks between supporters and detractors of President Petro, reflecting the political and economic polarization that still persists in Colombia.