2024-08-14 00:16:39
Amid a heated debate on the government’s economic policy, Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla has responded to criticism following the recent proposal for forced investments.
This measure, which seeks to boost economic recovery in Colombia, has been the subject of controversyespecially after former President Iván Duque expressed his concern, calling it an attempt to “expropriate” citizens’ savings.
In a strong statement, Duque warned of the dangers that, according to him, this initiative would represent: “What they call ‘forced investments’ is nothing other than the beginning of the ‘expropriation’ of people’s savings in banks. Neither Congress nor the Courts can allow this dangerous attack on citizens’ rights. Protecting savings is a moral duty,” the former president stressed.
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In response to these statements, Bonilla sought to calm things down, clarifying that this was not an expropriation.People will continue to have money in their current accounts“That is not expropriation, that is not what a former president says about Colombians being expropriated; he always talks about expropriations without knowing exactly what that is. Forced investments have existed for more than 20 years in Colombia and no one has ever said that it is an expropriation,” the minister emphasized.
The Government’s proposal, as explained by President Gustavo Petro days ago, aims to redirect a portion of public savings that are currently inactive in banks or that are being affected by the deterioration of portfolios due to high interest rates. This capital would be allocated to entities such as Bancóldex, Banco Agrario or Fondo Nacional del Ahorro, with the aim of promoting key sectors such as industry, agriculture, housing improvement and even tourism, all of them considered fundamental for the economic reactivation of the country.
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