On Thursday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro assured that he will ask the director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, for an alternative to extend the terms of the credit payments that the coffee-growing country has.
From Asofondos, the Minister of Finance of Colombia, Ricardo Bonilla, stated that the government of Iván Duque issued emergency decrees during the pandemic with which it went into debt without having the debt quota, including credit with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). , hence Gustavo Petro's government is making payments, but without opening a new quota.
On Thursday, President Petro assured that he will ask the director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, for an alternative to extend the terms of the credit payments that the country has.
The president assured that the government of Iván Duque acquired the loan with the Fund for three years, precisely the years of his Government. “The only country in the world that made that loan because no one else fell for that nonsense and that is why the debt jumps from $75 billion (US$ 19.62 billion) to $100 billion (US$ 26.16 billion).”
Bonilla explained that the president made the request to look for alternatives, since the credit with the IMF is not the only one that the country must pay, but it is short-term and of a high amount. “The country would have to pay $125 billion (US$32,701 million) in 2025. Everything we pay in debt reduces investment possibilities. The debate is, do we pay debt or invest? How do we balance the two? “That is the most important macroeconomic discussion we should have.”
For the 2024 budget, a doubt payment of $95 billion (US$24,852 million) is planned; the conversation is now facing 2025.
Bonilla added that in order to promote economic reactivation, investment is needed, hence the need to readjust credit terms: “debt does not reactivate the economy, investment does. The payment of debt leaves the country in good international and national terms, but investment does not occur, we can do both, continue to look good in the international market, but look for resources for investment."
