Columnist Wilson Ruiz Orejuela criticizes the Colombian government's use of the economic emergency decree, arguing it stems not from an unexpected crisis but from political and fiscal management failures. He claims this measure erodes institutions and creates legal uncertainty. The piece, published on December 23, 2025, warns of the risks of concentrating power in the executive branch.
In his column titled 'When Governing Fails, the Decree Appears', published on occidente.co on December 23, 2025, Wilson Ruiz Orejuela examines Colombia's economic emergency declaration as a desperate government measure. According to the author, it does not arise from an 'external collapse or unforeseeable situation', but from 'fiscal disorder', a 'loss of trust', and an 'evident inability to build majorities in Congress'.
Ruiz Orejuela argues that the executive resorts to the decree because it has lost 'direction, political support, and the capacity to govern democratically'. He describes the mechanism as 'legally fragile', with the government aware that the Constitutional Court could strike it down, yet using it to 'force economic decisions'. This, he says, sends a clear political message and has immediate economic impact.
The columnist points out a key contradiction: the government acknowledges structural fiscal problems but presents them as an 'unexpected urgency'. 'Both statements cannot be true at the same time', he writes, stressing that structural issues demand serious reforms, not exceptional measures. In his view, this approach is 'improvisation' that breaks the balance of powers, turns Congress into a 'decorative actor', and erodes the rule of law.
Furthermore, Ruiz Orejuela warns that it creates 'legal uncertainty, scares away investment', and reinforces the idea that rules change based on governmental convenience. The measure includes no 'spending adjustment, no state reduction, no self-criticism', but rather 'more taxes and more power concentrated' in the executive. He concludes that governing should involve 'anticipating, dialoguing, and respecting the limits of power', and that confusing authority with imposition worsens fiscal problems instead of solving them.
