As the days go by and the official inauguration of the new government of President-elect Gustavo Petro approachesmore names are being known that will accompany the work team, and the one on the economic issue is one of the key groups.
This Thursday, the Minister of Finance, José Antonio Ocampo, confirmed in WEEK that the economist and lawyer José Roberto Acosta will have the position of director of Public Creditone of the decisive lines in the Ministry of public finances.
Acosta is an economist and lawyer. He held the same position in the District. He is specialized in securities, financial and administrative law, an area in which he has worked for more than two decades. Little by little he became involved in the public sector, which has served him to deepen the connection between legislation and the financial sector, his two professional profiles.
He has been a teacher, trainer of several generations of students, both undergraduate and postgraduate and MBA.
He has defined himself as a friend of central bank autonomy and fiscal orthodoxy. The issue that the Ministry of Finance will handle is key, taking into account that the country reached an unprecedented level of indebtedness due to the resource needs posed by the covid-19 pandemic, and there is a fiscal rule by law, which points out the obligation of sound management of public finances.
A long history
Acosta studied economics at the Military University. He graduated as a lawyer from the National University, to then pursue postgraduate studies (specialization and master’s degree) in Corporate Finance from CESA (Colegio de Estudios Superiores de Administración).
Among the universities where he has worked as a teacher are CESA, Universidad del Rosario and Universidad Nacional, to mention just a few.
In the field that will deal in the Ministry of Finance, As director of public credit, his time at the firms Bermúdez & Valenzuela, Grupo Aval, Serfinco, Corredores Asociados and Asesores en Valores will serve him well.
In addition, in the business field it has accumulated experiences with its participation in boards of directors such as CESA, Titán Cemento and ENKA, registered on the Stock Exchange.
As director of public credit in the District (position held since February 2020) It should be mentioned that he led the first support operation of the MIGA agency (Multilateral Investin Agency Garantee) of the World Bank to a city, for a disbursement of the BVA of Spain, for the amount of 250 million dollars. Similarly, he was also in charge of the first issuance of social bonds (ESG) of a city in Latin America
Acosta has also ventured into the publishing world, with the publication of the last three editions of the book Colombian economic structurealongside Gilberto Arango London (QEPD).
Also interested in tax issues, he was part of the tax justice network, an organization to which academics from the country belonged, with the intention of shaping a think tank on tax issues. From there he retired some time ago.
His name is listed as one of the anti-corruption activists, at the Anti-Corruption Institute.