Latin American Economy & Business - November 2017 (ISSN 1741-7430)

In mid-October, the Colombian legislature approved the 2018 budget – the last under the tenure of President Juan Manuel Santos, who will step down in August next year. Given that President Santos is constitutionally barred from seeking another term, the budget was not a pre-election package designed to boost spending ahead of a re-election bid. Instead, the budget rose only gradually (by just 1% in nominal terms, to COP236bn), with plans to cut expenditure in some areas, and reduce external debt.