President Gustavo Petro explained on his X account that economic reactivation funds will not come from the national budget, but from new taxes. This comes amid Decree 0150 of 2026, declaring an economic, social, and ecological emergency in eight northern Colombian departments due to the climate crisis.
President Gustavo Petro reacted to Decree 0150 of 2026, the fifth economic emergency declaration in his term, via his X account. The decree addresses the climate crisis in northern Colombia, impacting the departments of Córdoba, Antioquia, La Guajira, Sucre, Bolívar, Cesar, Magdalena, and Chocó. Petro stressed: “The resources for reactivation will not come from the budget,” and specified an increase in compensation funds financed by new taxes, such as a patrimony tax affecting about 15,000 companies with liquid assets over 200,000 UVT, equivalent to roughly 10.4 billion pesos, at a 0.6% rate up to 600,000 UVT, or about 31.424 billion pesos.
The goal is to lower the real interest rate for food and agroindustry production, aiding small and medium enterprises in areas like the Urbana chocoano, Urabá antioqueño, Córdoba, Sucre, Nordeste antioqueño, Mojana, and depresión Momposina. Petro contrasted this with past emergencies under Álvaro Uribe and Juan Manuel Santos, where businesses paid up to 4.8% of their liquid patrimony, versus the current 0.6%. “I have asked to differentiate them to tax rents more and not tax truly productive companies,” he stated.
Funds will come from forced rural and urban investments in Banco Agrario and Bancóldex, drawing on a 1960s law to remove the substitute portfolio and expand amounts for food production. Historically, Colombia has declared economic emergencies eight times since the early 2000s, with Petro's government using the measure four times, matching those of Santos and Duque combined. Finance Minister Germán Ávila previewed the creation of this patrimony tax for legal entities.
