BOGOTA, April 7 (Reuters) – Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Tuesday evening that his government would submit an economic emergency decree and a new tax reform bill to Congress to balance the 2026 budget.
The president said that if Congress did not approve his economic proposals, he would enact them by decree.
“If necessary, we will declare a new economic emergency in Colombia because what we must save is the standard of living, which is now much higher than at any time in history,” Petro said in a televised address.
The president also asked his interior minister to submit a tax reform bill to Congress in a bid to finance the unbalanced 2026 budget, but did not specify the expected amount to be collected.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta, Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Himani Sarkar)
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