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Colombia President Slams ‘Two Bankers’ He Says Control Pension System
(Bloomberg) -- President Gustavo Petro amped up his anti-business rhetoric on Tuesday with an attack on “two bankers” he says are milking Colombia’s pension system to the detriment of workers.
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Addressing supporters in central Bogota, Petro said he’s preparing a bill to boost coverage and increase the role of the public sector in pension provision as part of his ambitious reform agenda.
“These two bankers are loaded with money,” Petro said from the balcony of the presidential palace alongside his wife and youngest daughter, without saying who he was referring to. “We’ve had a huge mass of contributors, 18 million, giving money every month to the two largest banks in the country, while no one receives a pension.”
Colombia’s two biggest pension fund managers are Grupo Aval SA’s Porvenir and Proteccion SA, which is controlled by an investment conglomerate in which Grupo Sura and Bancolombia have stakes. Billionaire Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo is the founder of Grupo Aval, the country’s biggest banking group.
Grupo Aval and Proteccion declined to comment.
Petro spoke at an event to boost support for his controversial health bill, which the government sent to congress Monday. Some of his supporters also marched in other cities.
After facing significant pushback for his health plan even from within his own cabinet, Petro had called for mass street demonstrations Tuesday to pressure lawmakers. Participation was low however, with Bogota mayor Claudia Lopez saying some 2,000 people took to the street in the capital, and Blu Radio saying around 28,000 mobilized nationwide.
Besides the pension bill, Petro also said the government will send a labor reform to lawmakers that will seek to increase pay for those working after 6 p.m. The government aims to get health, pension and labor bills passed in the first half of the year ahead of regional elections in October.
In his speech Petro looked to attract the attention of the electorate ahead of the regional elections and pressure congress using the support of citizens in the street, according to Mario Gomez, managing partner for Colombia at public affairs and business consulting firm Prospectiva.
“This was a change in discourse,” said Gomez. “We are once again seeing Gustavo Petro in political campaign mode.”
Test of Strength
As with the health bill, the pension reform proposal would represent a large increase in the role of the government, by diverting flows to a public system away from private pension fund managers. Investors worry this would undermine demand for the nation’s stocks and bonds by cutting the role of some of the biggest market players.
Members of the opposition have called for anti-government protests Wednesday.
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