The output of Jose Antonio Ocampo of the Treasury has once again generated uncertainty regarding the road map that the government of Gustavo Petro; the new portfolio manager is Ricardo Bonilla, who has the obligation to build confidence among investors in Colombiaand to be responsible for spending in the more than three years that remain of this national administration.
In a recent interview with Time, Ricardo Bonilla indicated that he hopes the Bank of the Republic do not continue to increase the interest rates and that the inflation go down, as a weapon to take strength from the economic slowdown which is also affected in other countries.
“We hope that the Banco de la República’s policy translates into not continuing to increase rates. It has already reached its limit with the inflation rate and promote in the second semester, once we contain inflation, start lowering rates in such a way that the economy is reactivated on that side, ”he said in that media outlet.
Although the new Finance Minister hopes that inflation will drop and that it will stop affecting different products, he knows that this economic phenomenon will continue to affect fuel in the next two years, in order to overcome the deficit left by the Fuel Price Stabilization Fund, also know as fepc.
“The one that continues to affect inflation is gasoline prices. But that’s going to keep happening for two years, because it is a responsible measure that is to overcome the deficit that remained in the fuel price stabilization fund. And that if it is not covered, it becomes the most important source of spending and social spending ends,” the new Ministry of Finance told Time.
Given the considerable increase in the price of the dollar in Colombia, which -apparently- occurred after the announcement of the new ministerial portfolio of President Petro, Bonilla pointed out that the US currency has been unstable in the last two years, and he hopes that the markets will calm down on the promise of fiscal responsibility in the Treasury portfolio.
“This process of instability has been going on for two years in Colombia, and clearly In the past months we had a dollar of 5,000 and it reached 4,400 pesos. I really hope that the markets receive a message of stability in some way from the cabinet change and that the exchange rate returns to its downward path,” Bonilla said.
Regarding the energy transition in Colombia promoted by President Petro, Bonilla pointed out that there will be no abrupt changes, since will continue to sell coal and oil responding to the international commitments that the nation has with the different countries, and what the project intends is that in the distant future Colombia does not have problems of energy sources.
“(…) we are going to continue selling coal and oil as expected in international markets. Finally they are markets of the future. That is already committed, it is being sold, in the same process in which the energy transition is developing. The energy transition does not mean ending coal and oil production right now. It is to anticipate this in a period of fifteen years in which there is an effective substitution in international trade with other products,” said Bonilla in Time.
Ocampo dedicated a few words to the economist Ricardo Bonilla who has served as Finance Minister since Monday, May 1, when President Petro officially installed him in office.
The message was shared through his Twitter account @JoseA_Ocampo, in which he commented that, “I wish the greatest success to my successor @ricardobonillag, who has committed to consolidating the country’s macroeconomic stability, complying with the fiscal rule and respect the autonomy of @BancoRepublica”.
