2024-09-29 17:04:33
Within the framework of the National Congress of Business Traders 2024, the National Federation of Traders (Fenalco) presented a survey that reveals the concern and discontent of Colombian businessmen regarding the management of the current government. The survey, which collected 688 responses from merchants and businessmen from various parts of the country, revealed that an alarming 60% of participants have considered leaving Colombia in the last two years, citing the economic situation, insecurity and lack of security as the main reasons. opportunities. Since 2022, more than one million Colombians have made the decision to emigrate.
The survey sample included mostly small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) representing 90% of responses, followed by large businesses (3%) and micro-businesses, such as convenience stores (7%). Jaime Alberto Cabal, president of Fenalco, highlighted that when analyzing the current problems of the business community, concerns emerged that were not so prominent before, such as growing insecurity and excessive extortion, in addition to the uncertainty caused by a new tax reform that is in process.
You may be interested: Minister of Finance spoke about renewing Colombia’s energy matrix
The survey also investigated the actions that the National Government should carry out to reactivate the economy. The majority of respondents (24%) considered that the main action should be to improve security, while 20% suggested the creation of a reactivation plan in collaboration with businessmen, and 17% advocated the suspension of further reforms tributary. “Definitely, the business climate has not improved and the expectations of businessmen continue at critical levels,” Cabal said.
A disturbing fact is that 37% of businessmen believe that the country’s situation is worse today than a year ago, while only 4% consider that it has improved and a mere 1% classify it as excellent. Furthermore, an indicator that worries many is that 43% of those surveyed predict that employment in their companies will decrease in the remainder of the year, 52% estimate that it will remain the same and only 5% expect an increase.
Read also: Ecopetrol announced measures to guarantee natural gas supply in 2025
During his speech at the Fenalco Congress, Cabal made a forceful criticism of the management of the Petro Government, stating that the country has gone back 30 years in terms of development and that it is essential to start thinking about the 2026 elections. The uncertainty that is being experienced currently generates an environment of mistrust among businesspeople, which could have repercussions on the country’s economy if effective measures are not taken to address their concerns.