Colombia Plans to Eliminate Five Ministries to Cut Costs

The government of Abelardo de la Espriella is preparing a reform of the structure of the state that includes eliminating five ministries by abolishing some portfolios and merging others, with the goal of reducing public spending and making the national administration smaller.

The initiative seeks to reduce the number of ministries in Colombia from 18 to 13, in one of the new administration’s main austerity measures, “before any tax increase,” according to Finance Minister Miguel Gomez on Monday.

Reducing the size of the state was one of the proposals that the current president defended during the election campaign, when he presented the reorganization of the public administration as a tool to reduce bureaucracy, cut costs, and improve efficiency. Now, already in power, the Executive is studying how to turn that promise into a reform that will have to go through Congress.

Colombia plans to eliminate five ministries to cut costs

Finance Minister Miguel Gomez confirmed that the Executive is considering the possibility of reducing the number of ministries from 18 to 13. The measure is part of the so-called Fiscal Rescue Law, with which the government seeks to contain the growth of spending and address difficulties in public finances.

“For the first time, this government is saying: ‘we have to reduce spending and tighten our belts,’” the minister told Semana magazine. He then insisted on the need to contain the increase in public obligations: “We have to curb spending, because the country is unviable if we continue as we are.”

Gomez has argued that the state must begin by making sacrifices before proposing new tax burdens for citizens. According to the minister, the priority is to review which expenses can be eliminated, which entities can be reorganized, and how the administration can operate with a smaller structure.

However, the minister did not rule out a possible tax increase. “Given the situation we are in, we are ruling nothing out. Raising taxes would be the last option; we prefer to cut first and have the state make the sacrifice. In the end, if that is not enough, we will ask Colombians to support us, but not through traditional tax systems,” the minister said Monday.

The elimination or merger of ministries would therefore be one of the central components of that adjustment. The objective would not only be to reduce the number of portfolios, but also to review how government functions are distributed and avoid structures that, from the Executive’s perspective, generate expenses that can be cut.

A campaign promise that will have to go through Congress

The idea of reducing the size of the state apparatus was part of De la Espriella’s economic platform during the presidential campaign. His program proposed a reorganization of the state based on efficiency and reducing administrative procedures, accompanied by an economic agenda aimed at stimulating investment and growth.

The proposal also tied into one of the central messages of his candidacy: reducing the burden of bureaucracy on public finances and concentrating resources on the functions the government considers priorities.

The decision to now move forward with a reform of this nature shows that reducing the size of the state has ceased to be merely an electoral promise and has begun to become a concrete initiative of the administration. However, there is still no final decision on which ministries would be eliminated or which would be merged.

The Executive is clear that the reorganization cannot be carried out solely through administrative decisions. Changes involving modifications to the structure of ministries will have to comply with the corresponding legal procedures and, in several cases, will have to be discussed by Congress.

The finance minister himself has said that the legislature will have the final say on the proposed changes. This opens the door to a scenario of political negotiations, especially because eliminating five ministries would mean modifying established institutional structures and redistributing functions among different entities.

The debate could also focus on the actual impact of the mergers. Reducing the number of ministries does not necessarily mean that all their functions will disappear, as some could be transferred to other portfolios or entities. Therefore, the actual savings will depend on the depth of the reform and on the decisions accompanying the reorganization.

Austerity amid the fiscal debate

The initiative comes at a particularly challenging time for public finances and, as expected, amid accusations traded between the president and his predecessor, Gustavo Petro, over the origin of the public debt.

President De la Espriella has made reducing spending one of his priorities, despite the preparation of a 2027 budget that is significantly larger than the one left by Petro. The justification came precisely from the need to address the high fiscal deficit, with next year’s budget totaling 634.9 trillion pesos (approximately US$205 billion), approved Monday in its first debate by Congress’ economic committees.

In this context, De la Espriella wants to demonstrate that the adjustment also begins within the government itself, fulfilling his promise to reduce the size of the state.

The measure, therefore, seeks to project the image of the state austerity promised by the president during his campaign, in a step immediately preceding a more than likely tax increase that will put Colombia’s new government under public scrutiny.