On Thursday, President Gustavo Petro met with the central bank board to discuss solutions to lower interest rates for the benefit of citizens. The meeting took place at the presidential palace, a day after Petro accused them of hindering the nation’s economic growth. According to Petro’s press office, the focus of the meeting was on finding ways to boost Colombia’s slowing economy, which grew by just 1.1% in the first three months of the year, falling short of forecasts.
Petro blamed the weak economic growth on high interest rates that are dampening internal demand. Despite repeated calls from Petro and Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla for more significant interest rate cuts, a majority on the independent bank’s board has resisted due to inflation being more than double its 3% target. In fact, despite reducing borrowing costs by 1.5 percentage points since December, bringing it down to 11.75%, Colombia still has not seen any meaningful impact on its economy.
The central bank has not yet responded to requests for comments on this matter, but it is clear that they will need to take decisive action if they want to turn around Colombia’s struggling economy and ensure a better future for all citizens.
