May 20, 2021 Road to 2022 in Colombia

On May 20th, former president of Promigas, Antonio Celia Martinez-Aparicio, and Dr. Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, former Minister of Finance and past Centro Democrático presidential candidate, shared the social, economic, and political context facing the 2022 Colombian presidential election.

In the social context, both panelists believe that the pandemic reversed social progress at least 15 years back; Much of it reflected in the poverty indicators, which rose from 25% to 40%. Oscar and Alonso concluded that vaccination is the only solution to all the problems that the pandemic has brought. 

Economically, they argue that the country needs a politically viable tax reform with permanent effects and that has meaningful consequences on the richest sectors of the country.

Politically, Mr. Celia and Dr. Zuluaga highlighted that young voters will have a substantial voting power with approximately 34% of the electoral roll. Furthermore, the traditional right-wing, center-wing and left-wing candidate paths are met by a fourth one, made up of regional leaders who have had successful mandates.

Clara Inés González Relationship Manager from UBS Panama moderated the event.