President Gustavo Petro revealed the proposals with which the government hopes to radically “change” Colombia’s socio-economic policies in the coming years.
In the 150-page National Development Plan (PND), the administration outlined how it plans to implement the policies promised by the president ahead of his election last year.
The PND contains the government’s ambitious strategy to implement far-reaching proposals to strengthen Colombia’s economy, combat poverty, improve public security and combat the negative effects on climate change.
The four-year plan will have major implications on Colombia’s foreign policy objectives as many of the DNP’s policy objections would require cooperation from other countries.
According to the PND, the government plans to invest $254.3 million (COP1.2 trillion) to finance its economic development plans.
The most important objectives of the PND are:
Agrarian reform
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Financial support for the poor
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Access to education
Porn profits to combat sexual exploitation
Energy transition
The PND and its individual elements will first have to be approved by Congress before the government is able to implement the measures that seek a radical change it Colombia’s socio-economic policy of the past decades.
The Foreign Ministry has also been lobbying with the United States Government in an attempt to receive support in Washington for a counternarcotics policy that seeks to end repressive and disastrous policies developed during the US-led “War on Drugs.”
Instead, the Petro administration had been promoting economic development in the countryside to reduce the supply of cocaine and a negotiated end to illegal armed groups’ participation in the production and trafficking of illicit drugs.