In a rare political maneuver during the legislative holiday, Colombia’s Senate voted on Friday to summon President Gustavo Petro’s entire cabinet to answer for the administration’s declaration of an economic emergency.
The decision, made during an extraordinary session originally convened to approve military and police promotions, marks a sharp escalation in the conflict between the executive and legislative branches. Despite the Senate being in recess until March, lawmakers utilized the session to challenge Decree 1390, issued earlier this week, which grants the president extraordinary powers to manage the country’s fiscal crisis.
The motion was introduced by Senator Carlos Fernando Motoa of the opposition party Cambio Radical. It requires all government ministers to appear before the plenary to explain the legal justifications for the State of Economic and Social Emergency, as well as the controversial sale of Treasury Securities (TES) worth 23 trillion pesos to a single foreign buyer.
Motoa grounded his proposition in Articles 135 and 138 of the Constitution, arguing that oversight functions cannot be paused. “Political control is not suspended,” Motoa told the chamber. “The responsibility to the country to defend democracy does not go on vacation.”
Colombia’s senate, a unified front against the economic emergency decree
The debate revealed deep dissatisfaction across various political factions regarding the government’s fiscal handling. Senator Efrain Cepeda (Conservative Party) described the current economic situation as a “chronicle of a death foretold” following the failure of two tax reform bills. Cepeda criticized the administration for “absolutely unnecessary waste,” noting that government spending is growing at a rate of 38 trillion pesos annually, while investment grows by only 4.5 trillion.
Senator Paola Holguin (Centro Democratico) labeled the decree “extremely dangerous,” arguing that the government is using emergency powers to bypass the legislature’s recent rejection of tax hikes. “The arguments they adduce to decree the emergency are not true,” Holguin said. “The government recognizes that it derives from the shelving of the tax reform, which leads to the disregard of a decision by the legislative branch.”
🚨 Tal como lo prometí, aquí está la proposición que radiqué ante el @SenadoGovCo para realizar debate de control político al Gobierno Nacional por la inconveniente e INCONSTITUCIONAL declaratoria de emergencia económica. Una medida que no resuelve los problemas de caja del… pic.twitter.com/fNCbaie8yo
— Carlos Fernando Motoa (@senadormotoa) December 26, 2025
Calls for accountability intensified when Senator Guido Echeverri (En Marcha) suggested a motion of censure against Finance Minister Germán Avila, alleging a “flagrant violation of the Constitution.” Juan Felipe Lemos (Party of the U) added that the decree demonstrates “absolute contempt” for the law.
In a secondary development during the same session, the Senate approved a proposition by Senator Aida Avella to summon Cristian Quiroz, president of the National Electoral Council (CNE). Quiroz will be questioned regarding alleged irregularities in the contracting process for training electoral witnesses ahead of the 2026 elections.
The approved propositions ensure that, despite the holiday recess, the Petro administration will face immediate parliamentary scrutiny regarding its economic and political maneuvers.