Democratic Center candidates propose cutting ministries and embassies to reduce the size of the state and cut spending.

This Sunday, the presidential candidates of the Democratic Center participated virtually in a new thematic forum moderated by former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez. On this occasion, the candidates discussed proposals to reduce the size of the state and cut spending.

In their interventions, María Fernanda Cabal, Paloma Valencia, Paola Holguín, Miguel Uribe Londoño, and Andrés Guerra agreed on the idea of ​​cutting the 19 ministries that currently exist.

Some suggested merging some portfolios. For example, a single ministry could be responsible for culture, education, and sports.

"We have to aim to have roughly 12 of the 19 ministries remaining. We've considered some mergers. For example, the Ministry of Education can be merged with Culture, Recreation, and Sports to cover all human and citizen issues. We can combine Mines and Energy with the Ministry of the Environment, with the understanding that we're going to organize the territory into what needs to be produced and what needs to be conserved. We can also merge Transportation with Communications and ICTs, because this is about connectivity. There's land connectivity, but there's also the connectivity of the electromagnetic spectrum and communications," Paloma Valencia noted.

The pre-candidates not only proposed ministerial cuts. They also considered the possibility of reducing embassies. "Everyone was clear about how obvious the reduction in ministries is, but embassies, consulates, and permanent missions can also be reduced . They can be closed and concurrency established. For example, why the FAO if you have an ambassador in Italy? Why the embassy in Haiti if you have one in the Dominican Republic?" asked Senator Paola Holguín.

For her part, María Fernanda Cabal proposed an Administrative Efficiency Agency to identify and eliminate duplications. "What we will do through the Department of Administrative Efficiency with Artificial Intelligence is to eliminate, in principle, all those agencies or institutions that can be eliminated administratively, promptly. That day, after the inauguration of the President of the Republic, we will arrive with decisions from zero ministries."

Uribe Londoño, Miguel Uribe Turbay's father, proposed reviewing the contracts for service orders (OPS) individually, with the intention of canceling most of them. "I'm sure we'll be able to cancel almost all of them, because Petro has used them to pay for political favors," he said.

The forum featured invited experts such as former Minister of Finance, José Manuel Restrepo; former Deputy Minister of Finance, Juan Alberto Londoño; and former Director of the DIAN, José Andrés Romero.

Juan Pablo Penagos Ramirez