De la Espriella's National Address Blames Petro for Fiscal 'Abyss' at 36-Day Mark

In a nationally televised address at 8 p.m. on September 13 — his 36th day in office — President Abelardo de la Espriella accused Gustavo Petro's outgoing government of leaving Colombia's finances 'al borde del abismo,' claiming the prior administration committed COP 10 billion in a single week before the handover. He cited COP 281 trillion in total public debt (44% of the budget), with 24 of every 100 pesos going to debt service and just 14 to investment, and announced COP 17.4 trillion in austerity measures already taken — including COP 3 trillion cut from goods-and-services purchases and COP 2.5 trillion from non-priority investment — while pledging to attract private investment and expand public-private partnerships. 'Cada peso de los colombianos debe tener un propósito,' he said, arguing the previous budget 'mintió' about the true weight of the debt. Petro and Senator Iván Cepeda announced they would seek a formal right-of-reply from the National Electoral Council, rejecting the corruption and mismanagement framing.