Petro as an instrument of revenge
Gustavo Petro's proposals seem inspired less by hope than by a spirit of revenge. His most notorious proposals are: 1) end oil exploration and export; 2) use primary money creation at zero cost to finance expenditure; 3) grab pension savings to pay for education and the elderly; 4) impose tariffs on clothing and food, to promote import substitution; 5) partly re-nationalized health care; 6) impose higher taxes on the 4,000 richest people; 7) provide public lending and compete with private banks; and 8) declare an idmmediate three-month economic emergency, to solve Colombian poverty.
These proposals have him leading in the polls. Probably, the voters share their vindictive inspiration. People have gone from discouragement to revenge, and their patience has run out, in the face of the indolence of governments and politicians. This is fertile ground for all kinds of populism. But do people understand the consequences of such an agenda? There will be unemployment, because businesses in the 20 departments that depend on oil and coal will wither. There will be less tax collection and dividends from Ecopetrol with which to pay the teachers' salaries, health care or pensions.
There will be food and clothing shortages. Nobody would be able to get a credit from the state. Many beneficiaries of these credits would not repay them. In short, there would be hunger, despair and disbelief. In due time, all of this would be blamed on the "rich" who take their money out of the country. Fifty million souls live from what Colombia produces. Nothing would be gained if only a fraction of Colombia’s current GDP were produced.
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