LatinNews Daily - 03 July 2026

*Colombia’s far-right President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella has announced plans to refinance the country’s public debt, which outgoing Finance Minister Germán Ávila Plazas yesterday said was estimated at 57.9% of GDP in 2026, up from 58.5% in 2025. In a statement, De la Espriella said that public debt is at “historically high levels” and said that he has instructed his pick for finance minister, Miguel Gómez Martínez, to “initiate a work agenda with the international banking sector and multilateral finance organisations in Washington, with the goal of advancing with negotiations that allow an improvement in the timeframes and interest rates of the public debt”. He said that “the objective is to give oxygen to the State finances, recover fiscal order, and reestablish confidence in the national economy”, adding that “the new government will take over public finances with discipline, responsibility, and seriousness”.