The moderate José Antonio Ocampo will be the Minister of Finance of Gustavo Petro

José Antonio Ocampo will be the new Finance Minister of Gustavo Petro. Jaime Saldarriaga (Reuters)

José Antonio Ocampo will be the Minister of Finance of the next government of Colombia, confirmed Gustavo Petro in a message on his social networks.

In a long-delayed announcement, the economist has accepted the offer of the president-elect, who on the eve of the first round had said that if he became president he wanted to entrust the portfolio to the renowned professor at Columbia University and former executive secretary of the arm of the United Nations for the development of Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Ocampo, who had advised the campaign of the center candidate Sergio Fajardo, agrees with the future president on the need to overcome the extractivist model, one of the priorities of the left-wing leader.

Jose Antonio Ocampo will be our finance minister.

Build a productive economy and an economy for life.

pic.twitter.com/Hn1f0AQ9NY

– Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) June 30, 2022

Petro promised profound changes in the Colombian economic model during the long presidential campaign that brought him to power, in which he proposed structural reforms to correct inequalities and face climate change with more environmentally friendly growth.

His proposals also contemplate a tax reform that ends unnecessary exemptions.

"The biggest challenge of the new government, and even the reason for its political support, is to overcome social inequalities," wrote Ocampo, who has already been Minister of Finance and Agriculture in other governments, in a recent analysis for the newspaper

.

“The challenges are essentially long-term and require greater public social spending and greater efficiency in all spheres of government, as well as an increase in tax revenues,” he wrote.

"The prioritization of spending is, of course, an essential element, given the immense demands and campaign promises," added Ocampo in his detailed analysis, published after Petro's electoral victory, amid the rapprochement.

"To this are added, in addition, the short-term challenges associated with inflation, especially food, which require increasing income support for poor and vulnerable households."

As is customary when a country turns to the left in Latin America, the expectations around the name of the person in charge of taking the reins of the economy have been enormous.

"There is a very important team of economists that has been built throughout this campaign," Petro said in a recent interview with EL PAÍS.

“The initial team began with Ricardo Bonilla and now, in the growth process, we have spoken with José Antonio Ocampo, Rudolf Hommes, who was also Minister of Finance, and one of the best economists in the country, Alejandro Gaviria, has joined.

It is a very strong team, with very different schools of economic thought, a great power in public economic policy”.

In the midst of a notable recovery after the pandemic, Colombia is the Latin American economy that will grow the most this year, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), driven, in large part, by the rise in the price of oil. oil on international markets.

"Petro has committed to breaking with some key elements of Colombia's economic policy, in particular ending dependence on oil by stopping exploration and focusing on renewable energy in an effort to diversify the economy," noted an analysis of the credit risk rating agency Fitch Ratings.

The proposal to reduce dependence on crude oil when its price is so high has provoked resistance.

Ocampo's name generates calm in various political and economic sectors, and has been received with relief.

"It's a success", Sergio Fajardo reacted.

“I have worked with him and he has a broad and deep knowledge of the country, which combined with his social sensitivity, experience and leadership capacity, make him the ideal person for these difficult times.

Great sir”, he valued.

Senator and former peace negotiator Humberto de la Calle, one of the architects of the Centro Esperanza Coalition, also described the appointment as "great news" when it began to be aired in the Colombian press.

“Timely and correct.

Progressive enough for this moment of social crisis and orthodox enough not to do crazy things.

"The incoming government must urgently appoint members of the Cabinet who provide credibility on three issues: the economy, security and foreign relations (...) During the campaign, Petro spoke a lot about unorthodox economic policy measures," warned the post-election analysis by the political risk consultancy Colombia Risk Analysis.

Ocampo thus becomes the second minister to confirm the president-elect, after announcing veteran conservative politician Álvaro Leyva Durán as the future chancellor over the weekend.

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