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"This is a government of austerity," said Finance Minister Mauricio Cárdenas about a budget that is below the 2017 levels in real terms.

The Colombian government confirmed that Claro and Movistar have submitted payments for the enormous fines levied against them.

"These forecasts for Colombia's growth are much higher, compared to the other scenarios in Latin America," said Cárdenas.

"We will continue to reduce spending with the objective of hitting fiscal targets and reinforcing our country’s BBB rating,” said Mauricio Cárdenas.

“Colombia's creditworthiness could be pressured” if low growth persists and high fiscal deficits undermine the government’s push to reduce debt.

With Mexican pension funds now subject a 0% tax rate, Colombia's finance minister expects the incentive to "attract new resources to finance companies and projects" in the country.

The 25-point cut narrowly won the day among central bank board members with a 4-3 vote. All three dissenters preferred another 50-point reduction.

Colombian Minister of Finance Mauricio Cardenas will sit on three of the four committees.

One analyst firm believes the move "to step up the pace of interest rate cuts is a clear response to the weakness of the recent activity data."

Fitch noted Colombia improving macroeconomic imbalances, current account deficit reduction, and falling inflation rate.