“I’ve entered the Colombia pavilion at the Future Fair of Osaka, Japan. They criticized its cost, but you know what?

1.3 trillion (1,300,000 millones) people entered the stand, we sold 700 different classes of Colombian products, all in one: We sold 11 million dollars of avocados, in the negotiation round, in two days, we sold $35 million dollars.

The most famous dish of the whole fair turned out to be lechona [Colombian Lechona, distinct from the Lechón of the Greater Antilles, is a small Colombian pig cooked stuffed with rice and spices] 10 million tons of lechona was sold at the fair, with the longest lines. It is a better dish than the sandwich or hamburger, or the hot dog, for the modern times with the hurry of the big city.

I wanted to massively sell Wayúu tunics and the gentlemen from ANATO and FONTUR opposed it, but for acts of campaigns Uribista [in support of Alvaro Uribe] with public money, yes it works.”

According to Gustavo Petro, more people than have existed in the history of planet Earth visited the Colombian exhibit in Osaka, Japan. There are approximately 120 million people in Japan, 8.2 billion people on planet Earth, but “1,300,000 millones” would be 1,300,000,000,000 or 1.3 trillion people (under US numeric conventions) Perhaps this is a typo, but even if he meant 1.3 million visitors to the Colombian pavilion, it would be a stretch. Last month, the entire event celebrated reaching a milestone of one million visitors.

Lechona (above photo), while delicious, is not popular enough, nor would there be enough food supply in the entire country of Japan to serve 10 million tons, which translates into roughly 22 billion pounds, or 10 billion kilograms. Even if the president made a typo and meant 10 million kilograms, at 125 grams per serving, that would mean 80 million plates of lechona were served, or 80 servings for each of the event’s confirmed one million visitors—not visitors to the Colombian pavilion, but visitors to the entire event.

Finally, while as a public agency indirectly under Petro’s control, FONTUR does have access to public funds, ANATO is the travel and tourism industry association, an organization made up of its members. So Petro’s complaint that they want to sell Wayúu products to benefit supporters of convicted former President Alvaro Uribe is perplexing, at best, and nonsensical at any rate.

Petro’s management of fiscal matters shows that mathematics is not necessarily his strongest talent, however these egregious statements go beyond errors or typos into the realm of absurdity.

He entrado al pabellón de Colombia en la feria del futuro de Osaka, Japón.

Nos criticaron su costo, y ¿saben qué?

Han entrado 1.300.000 millones de personas al estand, se han vendido 700 clases diferentes de productos colombianos; solo en uno: los aguacates, vendimos 11… pic.twitter.com/A8gJLMKyUu

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) September 5, 2025

Visitors to the Colombia pavilion in Osaka, Japan (photo: MinCIT)

Headline image: Lechona (photo © Loren Moss)

The government’s aim is to boost state revenues in the short term, but the plan is already drawing criticism for its potential long-term consequences, as it may lead to long-term fiscal complications while shifting the burden onto future administrations.

According to La República, Colombian economic-financial newspaper, the reform is projected to generate between $1.6 million and $4.6 million USD, depending on implementation: Luis Fernando Mejía, director of economic think tank Fedesarrollo, estimates the change would effectively advance about 0.8% of the country’s GDP in 2026 taxes. He noted that this amount closely mirrors the tax reform proposal that failed in Congress in December 2024. The measure would impact numerous economic sectors, including coal extraction, which would face a hike from 3.2% to 5.5%, and oil, jumping from 5.6% to 7%.

The announcement triggered an immediate response from Representative Katherine Miranda (Congresswoman in the lower house of the Congress), who condemned the plan. She accused the government of irresponsibility, pointing to its spending abroad while proposing austerity at home.

“They’re spending more than $11 million USD on fake houses in Japan, $600 billion COP on a consultation to campaign and they want to defund the next government”, Miranda wrote on X following the announcement. Miranda’s comments echo those of Senator María Fernanda Cabal (Congresswoman in the upper house of the Congress), who earlier that day denounced what she called “wasteful and unaccountable” foreign expenditures under the guise of promoting Colombia, after the investment of $11,200,000 USD in a government-backed cultural and diplomatic space established by the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan as part of the Expo 2025 Osaka

“Petro’s government spent more than $11 million USD on the ‘Casa Colombia’ in Osaka, Japan. It’s outrageous to see how they deny funding for medicines, housing subsidies, and education, yet they provide millions of dollars for a house in Osaka, Japan,” Cabal said in an X post.

According to Cabal, more expenditures with the same purpose were done for the ‘Casa Colombia’ initiative in Davos and Paris.

Laura Sarabia, Foreign Minister, visited Japan and inaugurated Colombia’s pavilion at the Expo 2025 Osaka, where Procolombia expect around 28 million visitors. Officials argued that the venue will help showcase Colombia’s global potential, but opposition voices remain unconvinced about the actual benefits.

In response to the complaints, President Petro defended the investment, also via X, pointing out that Colombia was the only Latin American country to participate in the event and that “the money invested in the stand can be regained in only one day through exports and tourism.”

Headline photo: The design, construction, and operation of Colombia’s pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka cost more than $11 million USD (Photo from Colombia Expo 2025 Osaka official Twitter account @Colombiaexpo)