What will happen to Solidarity Income payments during the Government of Gustavo Petro?

Who did Petro and Márquez thank for their triumph in Colombia? 3:51 (CNN Spanish) — Colombia will enter a new government in a few days. On August 7, Gustavo Petro will take office as president of the country and, according to him, there will be some changes in economic matters, such as the modification of certain subsidies, although he has not yet offered a detailed route on it. Among them, it is in doubt what will happen to the Solidarity Income payments, an economic contribution that the State delivers to the most vulnerable families in the country. It was created during the covid-19 pandemic to mitigate the economic effects of the pandemic closures. Facing a new government, many wonder if this subsidy will continue in force, but the incoming government has left the answer up in the air as to whether it will continue to pay this benefit. “We are analyzing which of the programs and how we consolidate them,” José Antonio Ocampo, who was recently appointed as the incoming finance minister by President-elect Petro, told W Radio this week. According to him, the social programs could be expanded, but the economic team is analyzing the continuity of this. According to Ocampo, Petro’s economic team is analyzing the negative effect that inflation has had on the poorest households and they are reviewing “what to do in that matter.” “Families in Action is a program that will continue,” Ocampo told Noticias Caracol over the weekend. This is also an economic aid program that offers an economic amount to families with children and adolescents in conditions of poverty and extreme poverty, to attend school attendance and health care. Ocampo said that they will analyze “the magnitude” of Solidarity Income and said that it is “possible to combine these two programs into one, but also these other programs that we plan to promote… such as additional compensation to low-income households for the high food prices”. President Iván Duque indicated in February of this year that Solidarity Income increased its coverage from almost 3.85 million households to 4.08 million households by 2022, and that these payments are authorized until December of this year. Solidarity Income payments are made every two months. For 2022, payments are expected to be made in the third week of July, in the second week of September and in the second week of November. However, we will have to wait until the new government takes office to find out if these benefits will be maintained.