President Gustavo Petro defended his pension reform in response to Skandia CEO Santiago García, who warned about minimum wage hikes above inflation. Petro stressed that long-term sustainability relies on national wealth and productivity, not real wages. He highlighted that pensions must adjust to the vital basket.
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro responded to comments by Skandia CEO Santiago García, made on the Inside program of Diario La República. García stated that minimum wage increases above inflation demand coverages to ensure pension system sustainability. Petro countered that a system failing to provide pensions to workers or leaving retirees in hunger serves no purpose. “The government's pension reform, which is now law but not implemented due to the Constitutional Court's lack of decision, allows reducing the fiscal deficit and achieving universality of the pension right,” Petro affirmed. He insisted that long-term pension sustainability “does not depend on workers' real wages; it depends on national wealth, which relies on real production and labor productivity.” Petro defended his economic model, noting pensions must ensure subsistence by adjusting to the vital basket, beyond wage adjustments. This debate arises amid the approved pension reform awaiting judicial implementation.