Colombian President Gustavo Petro says that countries are threatened with recession because of the high interest rate set by the US Federal Reserve.
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Colombian President Gustavo Petro
Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused the United States on Thursday of destroying the world’s economies by raising interest rates.
“The United States is destroying practically all the economies of the world,” Petro said, during a meeting with officials and citizens in the city of Turbo.
He added: “Countries are threatened by recession and the high interest rate set by the US Federal Reserve, which attracts the capital of South American countries.”
Petro warned that “the United States is taking decisions to protect itself, without thinking about what its actions will entail,” continuing: “The value of our currencies is declining, not just the value of the Colombian peso.”
The first leftist president of Colombia suggested a global crisis for several reasons, including the “gas war” in Europe, as he called it, in the wake of the developments between Russia and Ukraine.
In an attempt to combat inflation, the US Federal Reserve has raised key interest rates 5 times, since last March, rising from 0.25% in March 2020, to about 3%.
Since the beginning of this year, the Colombian currency has depreciated by 16% against the dollar, to equal one dollar 4,700 pesos, which is not unusual in the country.