President Gustavo Petro declared an economic emergency to address the crisis from heavy rains in northern Colombia. The measure aims to raise $8 billion through a temporary wealth tax on large companies and other levies. Critics question the management of existing resources and warn of economic impacts.
On February 14, 2026, the Colombian government, under President Gustavo Petro, declared an economic emergency due to an atypical cold front causing damage from rains in eight northern departments. Finance Minister Germán Ávila explained that the events are 'absolutely supervening and unpredictable', substantially affecting the region.
The fiscal strategy focuses on raising $8 billion to aid victims. The main pillar is a temporary wealth tax on juridical persons with net assets over $10,000 million, at rates of 0.6% for $10,000 to $31,000 million, and 1.2% for higher amounts (equivalent to 200,000-600,000 UVT). This would affect about 15,000 companies, excluding micro, small, and medium enterprises. Additionally, it includes adjustments to taxes on games of chance and forced investments, as well as an increase in the dividend tax for large companies to encourage reinvestment and prevent capital outflows.
Petro met with his cabinet the previous Thursday to discuss these measures, claiming the financial sector failed commitments from the 2024 Credit Pact, aimed at directing resources to production and associative credit. However, in the first 17 months, $228 billion was disbursed to five strategic sectors, reaching 90% of the $255 billion goal, with 16% annual growth.
Critics like Jonathan Malagón, president of Asobancaria, warn that new forced investments of around $35 billion would increase financial repression, as Colombia ranks third in the region for this indicator. This could raise interest rates by 49 basis points, reduce the portfolio by 0.9 basis points, and lower GDP by 0.3 basis points. Bruce Mac Master from Andi noted that the Ungrd should manage existing resources, but there have been execution issues. María Claudia Lacouture from AmCham emphasized the need for austerity and better spending to generate sustainable investment.
The Comptroller reported that in January 2026, over 164,000 contracts worth $14.8 billion were signed, suggesting available resources misused.
