In the race to reach the Casa de Nariño, one of the names that began to be heard in recent weeks is that of former comptroller Felipe Córdoba, who will aspire for signatures, and among his proposals he maintains that it is possible a State that spends less, through optimization in the execution of resources.
Likewise, in a conversation with Portafolio, he assured that the country must look towards the productive sectors that have been abandoned in recent years, not only to attract investment, but to reinforce the growth engines that help the country return to the times in which economic growth was above 3%.
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How do you see the economy?
We are very concerned precisely because we see a high fiscal deficit. Furthermore, we observe a very large and robust State, with an annual budget of $511 billion pesos, of which $327 billion are allocated solely to operating expenses, a very high figure. Added to this are $112 billion allocated to debt service, which leaves just $82 billion available for investment.
In other words, the Colombian State has very few resources to invest and from that perspective, our concern is that this Government continues to seek to generate resources only to continue spending on bureaucracy and operations, when we should focus the investment on the people, especially those most in need.
Cutting spending is a necessity that cannot wait, according to experts.
Image from ChatGPT
What can be done?
Our proposal is to reduce the size of the Colombian State. With the economic team we have calculated that we could save between $80 billion and $100 billion, carrying out a rationalization and merger of the 45 existing state entities, without affecting public employment. In this way, these resources could be allocated to social investment.
Likewise, I have been proposing that we should focus on internal consumption. Therefore, my flagship economic proposal is to progressively reduce VAT from 19% to 7%. This would have an approximate cost of $65 billion pesos in the first year, but the objective is for our people to have more money in their pockets and for entrepreneurs to grow, invest and generate more employment.
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Push for a revival?
It is almost the same thing that the United States did during the Great Depression, it is to reactivate the economy through consumption. If we get people to buy more, production will increase and tax collection will increase.
In a year or a year and a half, we could obtain almost triple the tax revenue thanks to the multiplier effect, since more consumption means more taxes paid, not because they are higher, but because a lower tax, such as reduced VAT, is paid more times.
Cutting spending is one of the measures that experts recommend in the face of the fiscal crisis.
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Is there where to cut spending?
Yes, there is a lot where you can cut. Not only because of poor planning in subsidies: today we see that there is financial aid that is reaching people who do not need it, or even deceased people. There are also cases of beneficiaries who should not be in Sisbén and still receive subsidies. TO
In Colombia, the State has been abused. There are people who take advantage of subsidies, while those who do require them are often left out. A real prioritization scheme is needed, a system that allows beneficiaries to be accurately identified and guarantee that aid reaches whom it should reach.
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How to govern with a scraped pot?
The first thing is that we need a very strong austerity plan, an institutional reform of the State through mergers, eliminations and reforms to reduce duplication, public purchases, digital and transparency, centralization, reverse auctions, price analytics and anti-fraud control.
Likewise, if we combat evasion, avoidance and smuggling, the country could save nearly $100 billion. That is where we should focus our efforts: on a comprehensive reform that combines austerity, efficiency and technology, to build a more agile, modern and transparent State; focused on the intelligent use of technology.
Felipe Córdoba, presidential candidate.
Courtesy – API
What to do with the economic rhythm?
The country must be put to production; We cannot continue sitting on the goose that lays the golden eggs without taking advantage of its potential. What does this mean? That today we are importing gas from abroad that is 35% more expensive, when we should be promoting national oil and gas exploration and exploitation.
We need to reactivate Colombian energy production, strengthen existing refineries and develop responsible fracking pilot projects, to evaluate if it is possible to do so under modern environmental standards. Colombia must return to producing oil and gas as before, because that would be key to accelerating economic growth.
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And investor confidence?
What I have been proposing is that we need to include a structural reform in the Constitution, a provision that allows for a single major tax reform aimed at lowering taxes, and that this has a constitutional safeguard valid for ten years. We need to establish a constitutional safeguard that provides investor confidence and legal security, so that international investors find stability to come to Colombia.
In addition, we must expand the “works for taxes” program and develop other initiatives that encourage productive investment, so that both national and foreign businessmen once again see Colombia as a priority destination for foreign direct investment.
The country’s economy faces serious fiscal risks in the coming years.
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How to improve the risk profile?
If we manage to generate legal security and investor confidence, the markets will understand that the country has changed. My government will be completely different from the current one, because what we need is to recover Colombia in 2026 and return institutional and economic stability.
The key is to establish clear and permanent rules, so that risk rating agencies, international investors and national businessmen have the certainty that Colombia will offer a reliable, stable and predictable environment.
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You bring a security approach…
Yes, because without security we will not be able to put the country’s economy back on track. That is why it is essential to recover territorial security. I propose to call the active reserve of the Military Forces and mobilize 120,000 men for the territorial retake. It will also be essential to rebuild and strengthen intelligence, relying on allies such as the United States and Israel to recover Colombian intelligence capabilities.
Another basic point is to provide legal security to our Military Forces and the Police. This is achieved by strengthening the principle of authority and guaranteeing its legitimate jurisdiction through military criminal justice, which must act in an agile and permanent manner.
DANIEL HERNÁNDEZ NARANJO
Portfolio Journalist
