Colombia’s finance ministry has cut $3 billion from the government’s $74.3 budget for 2015 to avoid this year’s deficit exceeds 3% of the country’s GDP.
Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas announced the measure on Tuesday.
Colombia’s public finances has taken a major hit over the past year because of plummeting commodity prices that were calculated to finance 20% of the government’s budget.
The budget cut “shows the strong commitment to the Fiscal Rule that demands that the fiscal deficit does not exceed 3% of the GDP during 2015,” Cardenas told press.
The minister said that 93% of the cuts will come from general spending. The remainder will be cut from social investment programs.
Also for 2016’s government budget, the minister has introduced major spending cuts in response to the dropping commodity prices.
Colombia’s ‘austerity’ budget for 2016: Investment cuts and stricter tax policy