In the race to reach the Casa de Nariño for the period 2026 – 2030, one of the names that has focused its message on ending polarization is David Luna, the former ICT minister, former congressman and former candidate for Mayor of Bogotá who Now he puts his name on the table for the next elections.
In a conversation with Portafolio, Luna Sánchez indicated that Colombia must move away from extremes and understand that progress is built with teamwork that gathers the ideas of those who want to contribute and with proposals that “go outside the box” and take advantage of the potential that is currently not being taken into account.
Check here: IMF raised its growth projection for Colombia to 2.5% in 2025
Why do you want to be president?
I owe everything to Colombia, who I am, what I have done, my training, my family, my happy moments and also the sad ones. I am a full-blooded Colombian who loves his country, who feels proud to mention it, defend it and promote it anywhere in the world. And that will never change. What’s more, every day I make an effort to ensure that Colombia is taken into account in all dimensions.
Here there are entrepreneurs, farmers and businessmen who have made an enormous effort to advance the name of our country, and I try to contribute my grain of sand, but understanding that criticizing without proposing is pure politicking. We are going to inspire, to show that it is possible to leave violent moments behind, that this country has talent, capabilities and enormous potential.
The 2026 expense accounts generate high expectations among analysts.
How to achieve that?
We are going to do pedagogy, because it is essential to explain to citizens what the problems we have are, how they can be solved and how to confront them without falling, as you said a while ago, into populism.
Populism is the easiest way to do politics, but it always leaves much deeper wounds. We are not only going to elect a man or woman to be president; We are going to elect someone who can really govern, who inspires, who is a good leader and who can unite the country. We need other reasons to join together, to work together.
You may be interested in: Trunk of Av. 68, in Bogotá, begins to see the light: Conconcreto delivers group 5
How do you see the economy?
Colombia is like the house of any of its citizens, and a house needs a responsible father or mother who spends, at least, the same as they receive. Unfortunately, the country, which is the home of all of us, today has an irresponsible father who is spending much more than he has and is also going into debt at higher rates than those of his neighbors.
That, obviously, has a negative impact and that is why, on August 7 we will receive, according to the Government itself in the Medium Term Fiscal Framework, an economy with serious problems, summarized in one word, which is the deficit. That is, we have less money than we really need.
David Luna
How to put the house in order?
When you want to put your house in order, you have to be responsible. It is going to be necessary, as I have been proposing, to face this challenge with a series of alternatives that help us grow, but in addition to that, there are other essential elements, such as trust and tranquility.
Markets need trust, and people in power may or may not generate it. I believe that in that sense we must rely on people who give citizens reliable decisions, always oriented to the general interest and not the individual.
More information: Implosion of the Puente Aranda bridges leaves 7,900 m³ of debris: what will they do?
Do sacrifices have to be made?
Indeed, sacrifices will have to be made, and those sacrifices will unfortunately have political costs. That’s why it’s so important to talk about them frankly. For example, it is impossible to think about a new tax reform. First, because people do not have enough wallets to pay more taxes. And second, because just presenting it would generate a political clash of such magnitude that it could repeat what many remember as the social outbreak. So you have to think about other alternatives.
That’s where I say, the first thing is to save, without new taxes. Colombia is capable of generating savings close to fifty billion pesos through concrete measures, such as eliminating around $3 billion in unfounded service provision orders, that is, unnecessary contracts or so-called ties, which could be eliminated immediately.
What other measures?
Secondly, there are $18 trillion in operating expenses that could be reduced, according to the Medium Term Fiscal Framework itself, through adjustments that avoid duplication of functions or the permanence of entities that are no longer required.
Third, there is $10 billion in unspent funds that fortunately is available, and hopefully will remain that way until August 7. And fourth, $15 billion in poorly distributed subsidies can be reconsidered. It is not about eliminating subsidies, but about reorganizing them, because today there are households that receive two, three and even four aid simultaneously, while others receive none.
Other news: Could Colombia be left without a holiday? This is the proposal made by the Mininterior
Will you bet on ICT?
I come from the world of technology, and I believe that artificial intelligence applied to the fight against evasion must be added to this issue. There is enormous potential there. Significant efforts can be made to increase collection without the need to raise taxes, achieving additional income that, in the four-year period, could reach close to thirty billion pesos.
And to that I would add an essential asset that is tourism, but strengthened with special zones of free transit and security. I think it is essential to promote regions such as Cauca, Putumayo, the Amazon National Park or the beaches of Bahía Solano, in Chocó. If we guarantee safe routes and adequate conditions, tourism can become a true engine of development.
The 2026 expense accounts generate high expectations among analysts.
How to deal with polarization?
Let’s start because I believe that the political center is reviving because people are looking for common sense, they are looking for equanimity, they are looking for decisions to be made based on evidence and not on anger or fanaticism. In that sense, I have been working on those calls for unity, which I believe have been very well received, with the understanding that there is an alternative beyond the right and the left.
I usually say something that summarizes my vision: does the right pay for electricity? Does the left pay for water? Or does the center pay for the market? No. You do it by the sweat of your brow. What one looks for in a ruler is to enable the conditions for free enterprise, opportunities and progress. That is my thesis: the market to the extent possible; the State to the extent necessary.
DANIEL HERNÁNDEZ NARANJO
Portfolio Journalist
