On August 7, a new administration will lead the country: the Government of Gustavo Petro, who was chosen by 50.44% of voters nationwide as the first president for 2022-2026. And together with his vice president, Francia Márquez, he became the first leftist government in Colombia.
(Contribute and improve the pension system: message from Asonfondos to Petro).
The bet of the new President is based on a simple postulate: “a productive economy that generates wealth based on work and the protection of the common home”, but this also implies a series of profound changes in the Colombian economic model.
The transformation proposed by Petro proposes as a basis to go from an extractivist economy to a productive economy, through a gradual de-escalation of the current model, which he describes as highly dependent on oil and coal.
In its government program it establishes: “In our government, the exploration and exploitation of Unconventional Deposits will be prohibited, pilot fracking projects and the development of offshore deposits will be stopped. No new licenses for hydrocarbon exploration will be granted, nor will large-scale open-pit mining be allowed. We will respect the democratic decisions of the popular consultations.”
An economy based on the protection of the environment and focused on promoting agricultural industries is its alternative proposal. For this reason, ideas such as promoting the development of agroforestry, silvopastoral systems, and also for nature tourism, under the leadership of community organizations, are several of the ideas that the new Government will promote.
(Petro’s record: most voted president-elect in history).
The objective of this boost from agriculture is for Colombia to boost the production of agricultural food, and thus replace food imports. In addition, Petro has talked about establishing “smart tariffs” to food imports.
In industrial matters, it proposes the articulation of productivity pacts between private companies, sectors of the popular economy, civil society and the State.
EMPLOYMENT AND SUBSIDIES
Another fundamental point of the economic proposal of Gustavo Petro is his ‘Guaranteed Employment’ initiative, a plan in which the State would act as the employer of last resort, offering employment to those who can and want to work, but cannot find a way to do so in the private sector, and would provide a basic salary.
“It will not be an emergency program or a substitute for private employment, but a permanent complement to private sector employment,” indicates the candidate’s programmatic plan.
In addition to employment guarantees, the Historic Pact for the Presidency program also has a broad set of subsidies with which it is expected to help the most disadvantaged population.
Among them is the bonus for the older adult population, consisting of a $500,000 monthly subsidy for all older adults without a pension. To this end, it also proposes a pension reform with a pillar system.
This would be the first pillar of the pension system. The second pillar would be a contributory system, where every working person, including those with higher incomes, will make a mandatory contribution to Colpensiones, a sum calculated on the basis of 1 to 4 SMLV.
(Gustavo Petro, the first leftist president of Colombia).
The surpluses would be quoted freely in the Pension Fund Administrators (AFP) or the public system; Finally, there is the third pillar, where a system of voluntary contributions would be managed.
Other social support proposals include a preventive health model, strengthen coverage in higher education to reach a level of access above 80%, with an investment of $28 billion for the four-year periodand also, a monthly transfer of $500,000 for women heads of household with small children and in poverty.
BRIEFCASE
