Medellín, Colombia – Colombian President Gustavo Petro declared an economic, social, and ecological emergency this Wednesday, 11 February, in response to flooding across the north of Colombia.
Under the measure, Petro will be able to impose taxes through decree, and is expected to attempt to raise COP$8 trillion (USD$2.1 billion) to address the crisis.
The measure comes less than two months after Petro’s previous attempt at declaring an economic emergency and the Senate said it will monitor all measures to guarantee “respect for the democratic order and the rule of law”.
The government’s official announcement highlighted the “exceptional” weather conditions in the affected departments of Córdoba, Antioquia, La Guajira, Sucre, Bolívar, Cesar, Magdalena y Chocó which have impacted more than 250,000 people.
Petro had previously declared an economic emergency for a period of thirty days from December 22, 2025. This followed the government’s failure to gain the Senate’s approval on a tax bill that sought to increase the national budget by USD$4 billion in 2026.
However, on January 29 the Constitutional Court took the unprecedented decision to overrule his decree while a final decision was made. This prompted an angry reaction from the President, who claimed that it represented a “real breakdown of constitutional order”. He went on to highlight his government’s role as a “friend of the working people” while his Interior Minister, Armando Benedetti, claimed the Court was helping to protect the “megarich”.
Opposition members of the Senate from various parties voiced their disagreement with the decree in a debate on January 30. Angélica Lozano of Partido Alianza Verde branded the measure “unconstitutional”, claiming it put the “separation of powers at risk”.
After the Constitutional Court refused to lift the suspension, Petro announced a new economic emergency this week. The decree details that all adopted measures will be “strictly limited to averting the crisis and preventing the spread of its effects, without permanently replacing or altering the ordinary legal system.”
The Senate has since announced “political control” of the state of emergency. This means they will monitor each measure to ensure they “respond urgently, transparently and effectively” to the affected departments.
Wednesday’s announcement marks the third economic emergency declared during Petro’s government. After the 2025 budget of COP$523 trillion (USD$126 billion) failed to gain approval, Petro forced it through by decree, a mechanism last used in 1904 following the succession of Panama the previous year.
Featured image description: President Petro addresses decertification in a speech.
Featured image credit: Colombian President’s Office.
