BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s Congress on Thursday approved a $247.4 billion four-year development plan, paving the way for the government of leftist President Gustavo Petro to implement social and economic reforms.
National Development Plans, presented to Congress by each new government, are generally financed with funds from annual budgets, royalties from oil and mining projects, and resources from municipalities and provinces across the country.
Petro’s plan aims to cut the percentage of the population living in extreme poverty to single digits, use financial surpluses from coal and oil to secure a transition to clean energy, and hand over millions of hectares of land to poor farmers to increase agricultural production.
The program was approved by the lower house with 120 votes in favor and 12 against, after previous approval by the Senate, despite the fact that Petro’s majority coalition, which included right-wing and centrist parties, broke down a week ago amid disagreements over a health reform proposal.
The alliance helped pass a tax reform last year, which raised duties to help fund Petro’s ambitious reforms. The government is also pushing labor and pension reform proposals.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Sonali Paul)
