Historically, not only in Colombia but around the world, incoming presidents and prime ministers typically achieve only a fraction of what is promised during their campaigns. Even if 30% of commitments are delivered, Abelardo could still disappoint some of his supporters, particularly those in Medellín who became deeply disaffected with Gustavo Petro’s administration. Ultimately, only time will tell. Much has been promised, but the pudding still has to be proven.

One major challenge will be the currency, which has moved to levels not seen in many years. The peso reached COP 3,100 against the dollar on Friday, and while many had feared a move toward COP 3,000, the surprise decision by Banco de la República to leave interest rates unchanged at 12%, despite rising inflation, quickly reversed that trajectory. COP 3,200 appears possible as the week begins.

These are extremely challenging levels for exporters and, in turn, for Abelardo, who has promised a golden age for overseas sales. Key sectors such as coffee and flowers have already publicly expressed concerns about declining competitiveness. Even if the new administration succeeds in creating a new oil boom, revenues generated at current peso levels will be significantly lower than anticipated.

The past four years have been dominated by discussions around debt and deficits, which economists understand are the cumulative result of decisions made by previous governments. These pressures are unlikely to ease if the peso remains at current levels.

Consumer confidence from Fedesarrollo remains solid. Retail sales are supporting imports of durable goods, particularly vehicles and electronics, adding more than $1 billion USD to the monthly deficit.

Other sectors likely to feel pressure include tourism and real estate, both of which have experienced significant growth in recent years. Colombia has become an increasingly fashionable destination, and many visitors have later returned to invest in houses and apartments. Today, however, those investments have slowed, while visitors are finding hotels, restaurants and excursions considerably more expensive than they were two years ago.

The reasons behind the peso’s current level are many, but a key factor has been investment flows into Colombia’s attractive local TES bond market through carry trade strategies. That said, profit-taking could soon emerge, particularly if investors begin positioning for a stronger dollar.

Let’s see how “The Tiger” addresses the challenge.

My regards,

Roops

Tecnoglass says that with the formulation and implementation of its carbon neutrality strategy, it is taking action on its commitment to fight climate change, and continues with a robust plan for renewable energy, energy efficiency, improvement of its production chain and structuring of greenhouse gas offset projects on its path of becoming a certified carbon neutral company.

In order to assess its carbon footprint, the company engaged outside consultants to measure its emissions from 2016 through the end of 2021 and invested in carbon credits to reach neutrality through that period. Tecnoglass is currently assessing the 2022 impact and expects to invest further to achieve 2022 carbon neutrality by the third quarter of 2023.

In line with the sustainability strategy and decarbonization plan, in 2017 Tecnoglass started a solar panel project with approximately 15,000 panels, which has been reducing the effect of over 10,000 tons of CO₂ emissions per year since inception. This year, consolidating that vision, Tecnoglass inaugurated a cogeneration project with two gas engines with the capacity to produce 70.3 GWh/year of electrical energy, expected to reduce approximately an incremental 5,500 tons of CO₂ emissions per year.

FTSE Russell has already conducted an analysis that estimated over 75% of the company’s revenues are already considered “Green Revenues,” which are defined as those that “are derived from products, goods and services that have a positive environmental utility: that help prevent, restore and/or adapt to issues deriving from climate change, natural resource limitations and environmental degradation.” Additionally, from a holistic ESG perspective, Tecnoglass completed a Corporate Sustainability Assessment Report carried out by S&P Global Ratings, which placed Tecnoglass within the top 15-20% of the Building Products S&P Global ESG Score.

“To be a carbon neutral company has been one of our major goals for several years. We have taken several actions over the last decade to increase our energy efficiency through the use of solar panels and natural gas co-generation. Through this proactive investment we have positioned Tecnoglass to be a carbon neutral company well ahead of regional and global timetables and mandates,” said Christian Daes, COO of Tecnoglass.

Daes went on to add, “While our production process is very clean and sustainable, our end products are the ones making a much more significant contribution to the environment and the consequences of global warming. Tecnoglass continues to expand its presence throughout the US, proving low emissivity glass and windows as well as impact resistant glass, windows and doors to mitigate and reduce the damages created by stronger and more frequent weather storms resulting from climate change.”

The low emissivity glass manufactured by Tecnoglass has been tested to provide up to 36% in energy savings for homes and buildings when compared to regular glass according to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Furthermore, the Architecture 2030 Organization estimates that buildings in general account for approximately 40% of annual global CO₂ emissions. As such, Tecnoglass is not only contributing to the environment by migrating into a carbon neutral production process, but by also contributing with high-end products designed to greatly reduce global emissions.

“Every day more and more organizations join in the commitment to work for the conservation of the environment and natural resources. With this in mind, the Tecnoglass group reiterates its commitment in the fight against climate change, contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and the Colombian government’s objective of reducing 51% of GHG emissions by 2030 and carbon neutral economy by 2050,” said the company in a statement.

The MinInterior Colombia account, in response to a tweet that claimed that Mario from the Super Mario Bros. franchise was straight, tweeted “I hope that Luigi is gay,” with the term being used for gay in the tweet, “marica,” having a negative connotation that can roughly be translated to “sissy,” a negative term for feminine men. 

It is unclear if the original tweet was meant to be supportive of Luigi being gay or mocking Luigi for being an effeminate character. The tweet was immediately deleted by the MinInterior Colombia account, and an apology was issued by the account that reasserted the government’s continued support of LGBTQ+ rights while implicitly blaming a community manager for the tweet using a hashtag. The incident is believed to have been caused by someone who was unable to switch their profiles properly, but the government has yet to confirm this theory.

Sabemos que no fueron las palabras, pero somos conscientes de que la homofobia mata. Por eso estamos a favor de todas las iniciativas que visibilicen a la población LGBTIQ+ y trabajamos para que sus derechos se garanticen. #SalvaUnCM https://t.co/9pObXcShXK

— MinInterior Colombia (@MinInterior) April 19, 2023

While the characters of Mario and Luigi have always been iconic since the release of the first Super Mario Bros. game, the two have earned a new global prominence due to the release of their new hit movie The Super Mario Bros. Movie, where Chris Pratt voices Mario and Charlie Day voices Luigi. The movie has made over $900 million as of press time and will likely end up making more than a billion dollars worldwide once its theatrical run ends. Colombia, meanwhile, has some of the strongest laws protecting the rights of queer and LGBT people in South America, including the legalization of same-sex marriage, legal recognition of non-binary individuals, and laws protecting the LGBT community from hate crimes and harassment.

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The budget is predicated on an economic growth target of 4.3% for 2022, compared with the government’s forecast expansion of 6% for this year, and uses a fiscal deficit target for 2022 of 7% of gross domestic product

Colombia’s central bank forecasts economic growth of 8.6% for 2021. The proposal allocates 209.1 trillion pesos for government operating costs, 2.6% more than this year, while proposed debt payments would rise 1.6% to 71.6 trillion pesos.

It also includes 69.6 trillion pesos for social spending, up from 18.8% in this year. This includes salary subsidies for businesses to boost employment, including for youth and women. The bill will also temporarily suspend restrictions on public contracts being awarded during election years, in a bid to help economic recovery. The budget will allocate 50.4 trillion pesos for pensions, 49.4 trillion pesos for education, 42.6 trillion pesos for defense, and 41.8 trillion pesos for healthcare.

The bill passed with 68 votes in favor and nine against in the Senate and by 117 in favor and 18 against in the lower house.

Photo courtesy Cámara de diputados de Colombia

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The president also announced:

1. Except for humanitarian flights, all commercial aviation remains closed until June.
2. Inter-city bus service remains closed.
3. Mass transportation such as municipal buses or Medellín’s metro must run at no more than 35% capacity. The president suggested that Colombians opt for bicycles when possible.
4. The president insisted that all employees and employers able to implement teleworking modalities to do so.
5. Mass gatherings such as concerts, meetings and parties remain prohibited.
6. Bars and clubs are to remain closed.
7. Restaurants may continue to operate under home-delivery only.
8. Schools and universities remain closed, except for those employing 100% distance learning.

The president also announced that Colombian government-provided social protection programs will continue to operate, and that protection of the elderly is of the highest priority.

Distributed from notifications@migracioncolombia.gov.co, the email included an attachment that recipients were instructed to open. If they did not process the “pending” request, the malicious message stated that they “would not be allowed to leave the country.”

Officials in the governmental office of Migración Colombia sent a follow-up email stating that the message was unauthorized and that this email account was not one used by the agency.

“We want to inform you that, after validating the information provided, we can state that it is a fake email, with malicious content, that seeks to generate anxiety among the public,” said the Bogotá-based agency in an email.

The office instructed anyone who got the message to not download the attachment, delate the email, and empty their deleted items folder to avoid contracting any potential malware.

Migración also offered general advice to never respond to emails asking for personal or financial information or click on links within an email from an unknown sender.