Liberal economist becomes Colombia’s new finance minister in Petros’ leftist government

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Colombian President-elect Gustavo Petro has appointed José Antonio Ocampo as finance minister. This should help ease the concerns of investors who have been bracing for unpredictable economic policies under the country’s first leftist government.

The 69-year-old Ocampo is one of Colombia’s best-known economists and has co-authored books with Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz. He has advocated a more “active” use of the exchange rate and supported a tax on commodity exports.

He served as finance minister in the 1990s and has also been agriculture minister and head of the National Planning Department. Most recently, he was co-director of the Federal Reserve and a professor at Columbia University.

Petro’s plans to halt oil production and reform the pension system, as well as a tax increase, have spooked the economy and investors in Colombian assets. Ocampo must maintain investor confidence while having the political clout to advance the president’s agenda, including higher social benefits for millions of poor Colombians.

The decision to appoint Ocampo is another sign of possible moderation by Petro, who faces a divided Congress in his efforts to reform the economy. Since the election, he has already forged new alliances with centrist parties and met with President Iván Duque, former President Álvaro Uribe, and his second-round rival, Rodolfo Hernández.

Ocampo is the third member of the leftist president-elect’s incoming government.
Vice-President-elect Francia Marquez will run the Equality and Women Ministry, and Alvaro Leyva, a senior conservative, will become Foreign Minister.

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