Central Bank of Colombia publishes board member César Giraldo speech urging a rights based framework for the popular economy

The Central Bank of Colombia published a speech by board member César Giraldo delivered at the III Congress of Popular Economies, arguing that Colombia’s “popular economy” and informality should be addressed through tailored rights, obligations and social protection rather than punitive enforcement. The intervention frames the issue as central to macroeconomic and social policy given its scale in the labour market. Giraldo stated that more than 50% of the working population depends on the popular economy, citing an informality rate around 56% and estimating it closer to 66%. He distinguished “opportunity” entrepreneurship from “necessity” entrepreneurship, arguing that applying formal business requirements to necessity-based activities contributes to very high failure rates and can push informal activity into illegality and exposure to criminal control and informal lenders such as “gota a gota”. Proposed policy directions included simplified social security, tax and labour regimes adapted to small and unstable incomes, and changes to public procurement rules to allow community organisations to contract with the state; examples cited included Brazil’s Microemprendedor Individual and Argentina’s monotributo social, among others. He also referenced a potential opening for reform linked to debates on a “Law of Competences” and an increase in transfers to local governments from 23% to 39.5% of the nation’s current revenues.