New criticisms of President Petro for how he calculates investment in GDP data for 2025

TL;DR

Colombia's economy grew 2.6% in 2025, up from 1.5% in 2024.
Former minister Juan Carlos Echeverry attributed growth to unsustainable government spending and healthy families, not private investment due to economic uncertainty.
Echeverry cited weak "gross fixed capital formation" as a structural brake on growth.
President Petro argued Echeverry confuses "gross fixed capital" with investment, stating only machinery and equipment purchases should count as productive investment.
Petro highlighted a 9% growth in machinery and equipment purchases, indicating productive investment, and attributed the housing construction slowdown to interest rate hikes, not business uncertainty.
The Dane reported that for 2025, GDP grew 2.3% annually in the fourth quarter, with a 0.1% increase from the previous quarter, suggesting near stagnation.
Final consumption (4.2%) and government spending (7.1%) supported growth, while gross fixed capital formation fell 9.3% in Q4.
Housing investment decreased by 8.5%, while machinery and equipment grew by 1.8%.
Critics accuse Petro of selectively presenting data and misinterpreting indicators like Gross Fixed Capital Formation.

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