2023-05-12 22:02:22
05:32 PM
No one had in their calculations the departure of José Antonio Ocampo from the Ministry of Finance. Since August it was known that his time in government was up, as he had academic commitments in the United States and his permit at Columbia University was extended to a maximum of two years.
Ocampo was considered the responsible adult of the government and his management gave peace of mind to the markets, That is why it was surprising when on April 26, following noon, his name appeared on the list of ministers who would leave the cabinet, following President Gustavo Petro announced the break with the government coalition because the allied parties did not support the reform to health.
also surprised because That same day, Minister Ocampo spoke with the risk rating agencies to give them peace of mind in the midst of those political moves that were beginning to shake the market.
But, how did he find out that he would no longer be a minister? That was a question that Ocampo asked him in an interview with Semana Magazine: “The president told me personally, which he also pointed out in the Council of Ministers, that the collapse in the political coalition generated a different political circumstance and that he wanted to govern with people who were closer to his political movement. I came from outside. He was part of that coalition, he was not part of President Petro’s movement. I supported another candidate”.
He was referring to Sergio Fajardo, whom he accompanied in the presidential campaign and was the architect of all his economic proposal. In the interview, the former minister said that did not identify as a quota of the liberal partybecause for many years he has not been a member of that group, and rather his political affinities were on the side of Fajardo, who was not part of the coalition.
“I was a member of the Liberal party for a long time, and -in fact- when I was in government, in the 90s, I was from the Liberal Party. But today I am not a member of that party. In the presidential campaign, I advised Dr. Sergio Fajardo,” replied the now ex-minister.
in your understandingPresident Petro wanted to surround himself with people who were historically closest to himand there the figure of Ricardo Bonilla, one of his most faithful advisors, had to emerge.
For now, Ocampo plans to return to Columbia University, where he was notified that he will be able to teach his classes for the 2023-2024 school year. While the economic destiny of the country remains in the hands of Minister Bonilla, his successor.
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