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This is no Petro support message — he is no messiah — but, instead, a reality check. Are we in great shape? No. Are we disappearing down the plug hole ? No.

What we did see from the latest Fedesarrollo survey was the expectation that interest rates will rise to 12% by year end.

Things can get worse, much worse. But as Duque’s four year term comes towards a close, there is a practical consensus in Colombia that things could have been much better.

We have seen a slight rebound over recent sessions as the peso recovers from the perfect storm of a lost investment grade, a wobbly oil price and forthcoming elections. Another major factor for the peso will be exports and there was good news on that front for July.

All three agencies said publicly many months ago that they were looking for the tax reform to right the fiscal ship which has been listing badly ever since COVID struck - to put it bluntly, the authorities have failed to deliver - and it is on them.

The move further weakens Colombia’s precarious financial position brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, causing an almost 7% contraction in the country’s economy. Fitch may likely downgrade Colombia as well, as the country already sits at the firm’s lowest investment grade before...

Against the backdrop of the images we have seen, it appears almost churlish to discuss Colombia's investment grade credit rating, however its removal would have more effect on those protesting than most of them could imagine.

Carrasquilla became the personification and villain of the tax package—and dissatisfaction with the Duque administration more broadly—after admitting to Colombian journalist Vicky Davila in the weeks leading up to the protests that as one of Colombia’s elite, he had no idea how...

Colombian President Ivan Duque announced that he was asking Congress to withdraw from consideration his fiscal reform package, brainchild of his Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla. The controversial package was put forward to broaden the Colombian government’s revenue base,...

Firearms and heavy weapons remain exempt from taxation, along with bottled mineral water and most soft drinks. In a “Let them eat cake” moment, Duque’s finance minister Alberto Carrasquilla in an interview defending the tax package, admitted that he had no idea how much basic...