Fighting corruption is the political banner with which Rodolfo Hernandez He hopes to reach the Presidency, a position to which he aspires after obtaining 5,953,209 votes in the first round (99.99% of polling stations informed)*. The former mayor of Bucaramanga assures that the level of operating expenses of the Colombian State is very highand on the contrary, it should invest in agriculture and serve the population that lives in the rural sector.
(Read: Rodolfo Hernández, another businessman seeking presidency in America).
What would be the priority that your government would have in economic matters?
Colombia’s problem, according to the same documents of the national government, is that the income corresponding to all the taxes that we Colombians pay is $170 billion, and we spend $350.4 billion. It means that more than 50% of public spending is creditedwith international banking credits and domestic credit.
Thus it is not feasible to continue in the medium and long term. But what is serious is not that expense, but that $55 billion is stolen. And then, every 15 or 18 months, they decree tax reforms and more debts, because a tax reform is nothing more than taking money from the productive sector and handing it over to politicians so that they continue stealing. As much as they say that I have no proposals other than fighting corruption, that is the only way to get the Colombian economy out of intensive care. If we continue with this bureaucratic mess, and we don’t really invest in what it’s about, which is to encourage food production, agriculture, no one will be able to fix this.
(Rodolfo Hernandez in
Wouldn’t it promote another tax?
The first thing we’re going to do is take the checkbook from those money spinners, thieves. I become repetitive and tiresome, but the first thing to do is look at what the ideal of the State would be like and how many drones must be removed. There are very good public and temporary officials, and in the hypothetical case that we win, they will have the full support of the central government so that they continue to provide their services to citizens. It’s time to rationalize I say that there is an excess of 30% of the people embedded in the State.
(Read: How the voting intention of Colombians for the Presidency has changed).
How do you consider the level of taxes paid by individuals compared to companies?
That needs to be thoroughly reviewed. But Has no sense that a person who earns $2 million in Colombia they charge you 10% or 15% withholding. Whoever earns less than $2 million should not pay income taxes, and make a progressive scale, from $2 million to $10 million, and so on, and that would have to be structured so that the income is equal to or better than what is being paid. charging. The tax statute today is not understood by anyone. You have to do a real review and make it simple.
What reforms would you implement in the structure of the state then?
It is not necessary to change practically anything, the robbery, the luxuries and the waste occur when the national budgets are made. It is necessary to strictly monitor, and incur, the operating expenses, which are rude, are worth $200 billion and that means that taxes are not enough. And the serious thing is not that it is not enough, but that they continue to appoint people who are not needed, subjecting the poorest to asking for credit, to having roads in poor condition, to not having access to higher education. Money is only enough for politicians.
How would you create jobs?
The only way to do it is producing goods and services. What to do is substitute imports, but to do so, we must create unit price analyses, how much it costs to produce abroad and why we are buying there, and how much it costs to produce here and understand why we cannot produce, in order to provide economic support. But it’s not giving away money, it’s stimulating, to produce corn, sorghum, whatever agricultural product it is. And so in all industries. For example, if a producer is given the subsidy, but does not produce, he has to pay it back. And the village roads must be fixed for the peasants.
(Read: Risks in the Colombian peso generated by the next elections).
In short it is replace, produce, transform logistics and consumption. That is the virtuous circuit that needs to be stimulated, internal consumption moves the economy and generates permanent work, and the easiest work to generate is that of the field, because the field is already done, you simply have to work on the land. We must look at how to link the poorest with respect to the use of the land. But the first thing is to start producing, and there we also have to look at the small and medium-sized industry.
How do you see the role of infrastructure?
First we have to make an inventory of the works that are underway, their status and how much remains to be invested. With that, look at how much money we have and not invent more works without finishing those that are in process. Everything that is infrastructure is welcome, but organized, financed, with the contractors that they are and at the prices that they are.
What is your position on oil?
Stopping short is straw, that is cart, because it would force us to import a million barrels a day that we need for consumption. What you do have to do is transition program, set a plan for about 15 years in which we are going to reduce and replace consumption, and replace it with solar, wind or hydraulic energy, it would be more or less 7% that we have to replace. Ecopetrol has to do that, not another. That is fundable and can be planned.
LAURA LUCIA BECERRA ELEJALDE
BRIEFCASE
*This interview was initially published on February 9, 2022
