Colombia's Petro Appoints New Finance Minister Amid Corruption Scandal
Colombia's Pres. Gustavo Petro announced on Wednesday the promotion of Diego Guevara from deputy to finance minister as a replacement for Ricardo Bonilla. The move was praised by former finance minister José Manuel Restrepo on Thursday, who said Guevara would build confidence in risk rating agen...
0:00
/1861
Facts
- Colombia's Pres. Gustavo Petro announced on Wednesday the promotion of Diego Guevara from deputy to finance minister as a replacement for Ricardo Bonilla. The move was praised by former finance minister José Manuel Restrepo on Thursday, who said Guevara would build confidence in risk rating agencies and the private sector.[1][2][3]
- A longtime ally of Colombia's first-ever leftist president and the second finance minister in his administration, Bonilla resigned earlier that day over corruption allegations.[4][5]
- This comes as authorities in Colombia investigate a suspected diversion of funds from the Disaster and Risk Management Unit (UNGRD) to buy congressional support, with a multimillion-dollar purchase of water tankers in the spotlight.[6][7]
- Bonilla was implicated in the scandal as early as July after former UNGRD chief Olmedo López testified before the court, revealing details about corruption within the agency and naming several government officials.[7][6]
- In his resignation letter, the now-former finance minister denied any wrongdoing and said that he was stepping down to 'assume [his] defense as a citizen' and 'avoid whatever damage from affecting the government's public agenda.'[5][8]
- Others implicated in the case include former Senate Pres. Iván Name and former House Pres. Andrés Calle, both of whom were formally accused last month. This week, Colombia's Supreme Court summoned Pres. Petro to provide testimony as part of the investigation.[9][10]
Sources: [1]Colombia One, [2]Bloomberg, [3]X, [4]Financial Times, [5]Al Jazeera, [6]Finance Colombia, [7]The Bogotá Post, [8]Reuters, [9]Colombia Reports and [10]Anadolu Agency.
Narratives
- Left narrative, as provided by AméricaEconomía. Make no mistake, Bonilla was forced to step down due to politically motivated persecution as the far-right attempts to derail economic reforms and topple the government. Some technocrats in the Ministry of Finance are loyal to Álvaro Uribe and Iván Duque, rather than to the nation, and they have done all they could to tarnish the reputation of Bonilla.
- Right narrative, as provided by The City Paper Bogotá. It's not just Bonilla who must resign over corruption allegations, but the entire Petro administration. Ever since the leftist president took office, corruption has become systemic in Colombia. The water tankers scandal is just one to have been reported in the UNGRD, with others including contracts awarded to the ELN guerrillas in exchange for peace talks.
