Álvaro Uribe listed the mistakes in the reforms of Peter’s government that generate mistrust in the country

Former President Álvaro Uribe expressed his opinion on several social reforms of the government of President Gustavo Petro at the National Congress of Business Traders 2024 of the National Federation of Traders (Fenalco). The former president of Colombia stated several points that have lost confidence in the country in economic and security matters.

actually Distrust in Colombia has apparently led to approximately two million citizens leaving the country between 2022 and 2024 with no intention of returning.and in 2023, nearly 120,000 Colombians were captured in the United States for illegally entering their territory. These numbers would reflect, from the point of view of the former president, that young people who migrate to other countries to work abroad because they do not find opportunities in Colombia are ready.

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“Approximately 50% of our migrants are economically active, which has allowed unemployment not to appear as high as it is perceived,” added the former president at the Fenalco congress.

Part of the country’s problems, as explained by Álvaro Uribe, is the decrease in foreign direct investment, which would be 16%, which is added to the fact that the Colombian economy continues to be below 2% because of the increase. state bureaucracy. He also suggested that the price of gold had risen and that illegal economies had done the same.

In addition, the fact that residents are leaving the country and do not plan to return to work has led to an increase in remittances, which can reach $12 billion in a year. “There may be a recovery in the economy, which is unlikely to translate into high and sustainable growth.. The illegal economy is not sustainable and neither are subsidies in a context without private investment,” he said.

The former president took the opportunity to question the tax reform implemented in 2022 when Gustavo Petro took office, suggesting that it had placed Colombia in the highest corporate tax bracket in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). . at the level he criticized the new reform presented by the national government, which he calls the funding law, which would be inconvenient for the country.

“The new one aims to reduce this corporate rate to 30% over 4 years. Even so, we would still be on top. It is proposed to increase the marginal income of natural persons to 41%. We are not at the top of the OECD in this category,” he added.

Added to this is the fact that it seeks to increase cadastral assessments in various areas of the country, especially in rural areas. “They intend to expropriate property from companies for property they consider unproductive, regardless of whether they pay property taxes, wages, benefits, and contribute to social security.“, he specified.

This would put on the table the possibility of the government, through said law, imposing “excessive” taxes that will lead to the destruction of “private wealth”.

The labor reform of Peter’s government is not suitable even for Colombia, from the point of view of the former head of state. He assured that it was based on “class hatred” and would seek to destroy investment and employment. One of the points that would lead to this result is an increase in compensation to employees for unilateral dismissal.because this increase would lead entrepreneurs not to create jobs to avoid problems.

He also said the project is committed to impacting the provision of temporary services that are paid statutory benefits and that provide work flexibility.

In this sense, he clarified that it is necessary to conclude contracts between employers and employees so that they move in the same direction. “Make deals for higher productivity while reducing working hours. In sectors with high year-on-year growth, also pay additional bonuses that do not constitute wages,” he explained.

The former president’s critical point was also the disputed healthcare reform, which failed in the seventh committee of the Senate and was again presented for discussion in Congress. As detailed, the reform project would mean destroying the current system, which is supportive and mixed, by nationalizing several variants of the health care chain, such as affiliation and resource management.

actually questioned the transparency of the General Health Social Security System Resource Manager (Adres)which, according to the initiative, would make transfers directly to IPS and other actors in the system, leaving out EPS, who currently manage the money. He described her as a “bureaucratic and clientelistic monster”.

As for EPS, reported that several of those who had been intervened by the state showed a 33% increase in their crime ratewhich shows that state intervention generates waste and theft and also deters private investment in the country. “Without private investment in health, the country will be deprived of access to artificial intelligence,” he said.

He added: “We are on our way to paying for health out of pocket again.”

President Gustavo Petro has already consecrated the controversial pension reform, which was approved through alleged irregularities in the House of Representatives without discussing points that would be crucial for citizens. This law, according to Uribe, prevents young people from building pensions and prevents access to the minimum pension with 1,150 weeks of contributions.

“It denies Colombia’s right to the amount of savings owned by workerswhich also finances the state, but consistently, and protects the economy from internal and external crises,” he said.

However, he indicated that there are points on which they agree, such as the pillar system and the pillar of solidarity, which replaces the Seniors program. In the latter, however, he specified that subsidies should come from the country’s budget, not from pension savings themselves.

“We must boldly defend the character of our convictions. Colombia’s problems are big and will grow. To continue in the same way requires strength of determination, not lukewarmness or complacency. Beware of complexes due to extremist disqualifications. Maybe so, I join you in democratic extremism,” the former president concluded.