Government decrees the 2027 budget for $634.95 trillion after conciliation expires

The National Government decreed the General Budget of the Nation for the 2027 fiscal year, in the amount of $634,952,040,871,099 (approximately $634.95 trillion), through Decree number 1599 of 2026, issued on October 22, 2026, and published on the same day in the Official Gazette, Edition 53,666, pages 36 to 57. The decision was adopted because the Congress of the Republic did not reconcile the texts approved by the Senate and the House and the constitutional deadline of midnight on October 20 expired. The decree bears the signatures of President Abelardo de la Espriella and the Minister of Finance and Public Credit, Miguel Gómez Martínez.

The failed process in Congress

The project was filed on July 29, 2026, in the General Secretariat of the House of Representatives, where it was registered as Bill number 152 of 2026, and in the Senate of the Republic as Bill number 186 of 2026. The initial amount was $575,699,169,518,981.

On August 11, 2026, the Joint Economic Commissions voted in favor of returning it to the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit for amendments; the project was refiled on August 27 with an amount of $634,952,040,871,099. The final amount was voted on September 14, the first debate was approved on September 23, and the plenaries decided on October 19 (Senate) and October 20 (House), both with modifications to the rapporteur’s text.

According to the decree, through a communication dated October 21, 2026, the President and the Secretary General of the House of Representatives reported that the texts “were not reconciled, given that the terms to carry out the respective reconciliation have already expired.” The regulation invokes article 348 of the Political Constitution, article 59 of the Organic Budget Statute, and rulings C-478 of 1992 and C-1645 of 2000 of the Constitutional Court.

What the decree contains

The articles are divided into three parts and 90 articles:

• Article 1: sets the budget for revenues and capital resources of the National Treasury at $634,952,040,871,099.
• Article 2: appropriates the same amount for operating expenses, investment, and public debt service of the General Budget of the Nation.
• Article 3: the decree has no fiscal effect on appropriations that support commitments already perfected against the 2026 budget.
• Article 4: sections affected by global reductions must identify the specific items and communicate them to the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit within three days.
• Article 90: governs from its publication and takes fiscal effect as of January 1, 2027.

Debt, territories, and entities

The general provisions enable the National Government to issue Class “B” TES bonds, anticipate debt service payments, and recognize as public debt the obligations of the National Infrastructure Agency and the National Roads Institute resulting from judgments and settlements of concession contracts, for up to $500,000,000,000.

The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit is also authorized to redirect uncommitted balances toward the Milagro Fund, for the assistance of territories affected by the earthquake of August 10, 2026, and other calamities declared during the current term, without increasing the total budget amount. Regarding institutional matters, the resources of the National Electoral Council are incorporated into an independent budget section, in compliance with Judgment C-116 of 2026, and public universities are placed in Section 2257 “State autonomous university entities.”

The Official Gazette 53,666 also publishes Decree number 1585 of 2026, which reduces appropriations for the 2026 term by $13,807,808,353,561, within an adjustment authorization of up to $21,900,000,000,000.

The decree defines the spending ceiling for the entire public sector for 2027—taxes, social spending, investment, and debt service—and, therefore, the budget items under which ministries, territorial entities, and state-owned enterprises will operate starting January 1. Its issuance via administrative means, without a law approved by Congress, leaves next year’s fiscal framework in the hands of the Executive and subject to potential judicial review.

Source: Official Gazette, Edition 53,666, Thursday, October 22, 2026, Section I (Decrees), pp. 36-57 (official reference: Decree number 1599 of 2026).