Colombia will manage to comply with fiscal rule targets even as the government’s debt load is expected to jump almost 40% next year, President Gustavo Petro said in a Twitter post.
The president said he met with his cabinet until 5 a.m. Friday to work on the 2024 budget proposal that the government must send to Congress.
Public investment will rise 10.5% to 95 trillion pesos ($24.2 billion) while the administration reduces the primary deficit, in line with the fiscal rule, Petro said.
An independent oversight committee warned that the rise in spending and uncertainty over revenue may lead to the government to break its fiscal rule, which aims to keep its deficit in check.
Petro attacked his predecessor, Ivan Duque, saying he increased the nation’s debt after the pandemic while forcing Petro’s administration to reduce fiscal metrics. The Finance Ministry estimates net debt to gross domestic product will rise to 57.1% in 2024 from 55.8% this year on significant debt payments.
“I have taken on the challenge, and I’ll show that I will do it, and at the same time I will seek to meet the goals of the government program,” the president said.
