De la Espriella Reignites Colombia’s Dollarization Debate; Petro Pushes Back

The Colombian presidential campaign added a new flashpoint after right-wing candidate Abelardo De la Espriella raised the possibility of dollarizing the country’s economy as an alternative to address economic problems and strengthen investor confidence.

The proposal, which has already been discussed in other Latin American countries—and also in Colombia for a long time—prompted an immediate reaction from President Gustavo Petro, who flatly rejected the idea and described it as a serious mistake for national sovereignty.

The exchange of statements reopened a debate that periodically resurfaces in Colombia whenever discussions arise about inflation, monetary stability, or confidence in economic institutions.

While some sectors believe that adopting the U.S. dollar could provide greater stability and fiscal discipline, others warn that such a measure would mean giving up fundamental economic and monetary policy tools.

De la Espriella reignites Colombia’s dollarization debate; Petro pushes back

The controversy began after Abelardo De la Espriella stated in an interview that the best option for Colombia would be to move toward dollarizing the economy.

“This is the first time a Colombian president is Republican (…) I am Republican. No one has ever asked me this before, but I want to say it: I believe the ideal scenario for the Colombian economy would be dollarization, but it is a very complex process. One of my economic proposals is for Colombians to be able to have dollar-denominated accounts in the United States to protect themselves from inflation,” the far-right candidate told Korraleja.co.

The candidate, who has built much of his economic platform around free-market proposals and greater openness to the private sector, believes that adopting the U.S. currency would strengthen market confidence and provide greater guarantees for investors.

Although no technical details have yet been made public regarding how a potential transition to the dollar would be implemented, the proposal joins other economic initiatives championed by the presidential hopeful, including tax cuts, simplifying procedures for businesses, and promoting a more market-oriented economy.

Dollarization is not a new idea in Latin America. Countries such as Ecuador and El Salvador adopted the U.S. dollar more than two decades ago, while Argentina has maintained an intense debate on the issue in recent years.

Supporters argue that it eliminates exchange-rate risk and limits governments’ ability to finance spending through money creation. Critics, meanwhile, contend that it significantly reduces governments’ room to maneuver during economic and financial crises.

Petro’s sharp response

President Gustavo Petro’s reaction was swift. Through his account on the social media platform X, the president described the proposal as a “sovereign stupidity” and argued that replacing the Colombian peso with the U.S. dollar makes no sense under the current conditions of the national economy.

Petro maintained that the Colombian peso is in a stronger position relative to the dollar and defended the need to preserve a national currency as a fundamental instrument for managing the country’s economic policy. According to the head of state, any eventual dollarization would effectively eliminate the Central Bank’s (Banco de la Republica) ability to issue currency and conduct Colombian monetary policy.

“I want a Central Bank that is independent from the country’s richest bankers, but replacing the peso with the dollar when the peso is stronger than the dollar is a sovereign stupidity,” the president wrote on his personal X account, referring to the long-running dispute he has maintained with the board of Colombia’s central bank, which he accuses of serving the interests of big capital.

The president went even further, arguing that adopting the dollar would mean transferring to the United States a strategic power that currently belongs to the Colombian state. In his message, he insisted that the country must preserve its economic and monetary independence, linking the debate to the defense of national sovereignty.

“Miami buffoons, Colombia is free and sovereign, not a cheap colony,” Petro concluded, directly attacking De la Espriella’s proposal. Sectors aligned with the government have accused the candidate of designing his platform under external influences and economic models disconnected from Colombia’s reality.

The president’s remarks reflect a view that has traditionally been shared by broad academic sectors and by many central banks across the region, which regard monetary policy as an essential tool for responding to external shocks, controlling inflation, and stimulating economic activity when necessary.

Yo quiero un Banco de la República independiente de los banqueros más ricos del país, pero cambiar el peso por el dólar cuando el peso es más fuerte que el dólar es una soberana estupidez y además, acaba con el Banco de la República porque el poder de emitir la moneda en Colombia…

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) June 6, 2026

What would dollarizing Colombia mean?

Dollarization consists of replacing the national currency with the U.S. dollar as the country’s official means of payment. Under such a scenario, wages, loans, taxes, savings, and commercial transactions would all be conducted in dollars.

Its supporters argue that the measure can generate price stability and reduce exchange-rate uncertainty. They also maintain that it helps strengthen the confidence of both domestic and foreign investors, particularly in economies where inflation or currency depreciation are recurring problems.

However, experts also warn of significant risks. These include the loss of monetary autonomy, the inability to adjust interest rates according to domestic needs, and dependence on decisions made by the U.S. Federal Reserve, whose priority is the U.S. economy rather than Colombia’s. In addition, a transition to the dollar would require enormous reserves to replace all the pesos currently in circulation throughout the economy.

The dispute between Petro and De la Espriella comes amid a highly polarized presidential campaign, at a time when economic proposals occupy a central place in public debate.

The right-wing candidate has sought to position himself as a defender of a more liberal economic model, while the president and sectors aligned with the government have insisted on the need to preserve instruments of state intervention and economic autonomy.

Beyond the political confrontation, the debate over dollarization once again raises a fundamental question: what economic model does Colombia need to address the challenges of growth, inflation, employment, and investment in the coming years?

For now, the proposal appears to have little chance of advancing in the short term, but it threatens to become a new source of polarization on economic issues in the presidential campaign as it moves toward June 21.