The Ministry of Finance filed the new bill for the General Budget of the Nation for the 2027 fiscal year, with a total amount of 635 trillion pesos.
The document, dubbed the Truth Budget, replaces the bill returned weeks ago by the Economic Commissions of Congress and records an increase of 59.3 trillion pesos compared to the figure of 575.6 trillion originally presented by the Gustavo Petro Government.
Among the components that explain this difference, the item corresponding to State personnel expenses undergoes a restructuring and sets salaries at 72.3 trillion pesos, after the direct incorporation of 4.5 trillion pesos that had no appropriation or financial backing in the previously structured bill.
The origin of the budget gap in the labor account lies in the projection methodology applied to the labor obligations of the centralized and decentralized public sector, explains the Ministry of Finance.
According to the finance ministry, in the initial draft, the direct costs of the state payroll were listed at 67.8 trillion pesos, a figure that excluded the calculation of annual salary adjustments, leveling of staff in public establishments, and accumulated obligations.
By omitting these technical variables and payroll contributions, the replaced bill projected a lower current expenditure level than the actual operating cost of state institutions.
During the presentation of the bill at the National Capitol, the Minister of Finance, Miguel Gómez, explained the technical reasons why the items in the new budget differ from the fiscal aggregates filed mid-year.
“The two budget exercises cannot be compared since in the one presented by the previous government there were very important items that were miscalculated or omitted, while in the one presented by the current government the real amounts are included; it is like comparing apples and oranges,” said the Minister of Finance explaining the process of clarifying the figures in the Congress of the Republic.
According to Gómez, the reformulation seeks to reflect all unavoidable commitments to avoid the proliferation of labor liabilities halfway through the fiscal year.
Breakdown of the 72.3 trillion in the public workforce
The incorporation of the additional 4.5 trillion pesos in personnel expenses raises the share of this item to 3.4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) projected for 2027, compared to 3.3 percent in the 2026 fiscal year.
The 72.3 trillion approved in the new bill finances a total workforce of 1,143,495 positions distributed at the national and territorial levels, the teaching staff of the public school system, and the health service workers at the regional level.
The distribution of human resources and monetary appropriations within the filed bill is structured into two major spending blocks dependent on the Nation’s funds.
The first block corresponds to the Central National Government and its autonomous agencies, which group 657,511 positions (57.5 percent of the entire funded payroll) with a budget allocation of 71.9 trillion pesos in direct operating items.
In this segment, the Defense and National Police sector demands most of the appropriations, accounting for 462,292 positions representing a total cost of 35 trillion pesos.
Next are the entities belonging to the Judicial Branch, the Attorney General’s Office, and the control and constitutional autonomy bodies, which include 87,292 positions with an allocation of 21.2 trillion pesos.
Finally, the Executive Branch at the central level and national public establishments register 107,927 positions, whose salary and benefit maintenance amounts to 15.7 trillion pesos.
The second block covers the payrolls of the territorial order and the public education sector, totaling 485,984 positions (42.5 percent of the personnel served) and are funded through current transfers from the Nation.
This group includes 363,687 teachers and school administrative staff whose salaries are paid through the General System of Participations (SGP), 75,321 academic and administrative staff positions linked to the public universities of the country, and 46,976 territorial health sector employees dependent on transfers from the Nation.
Compensation of expenses and purchases of goods
The ordering of salary items is set in a scenario of adjustment on the general components of State operating expenses, which will increase from 365.9 trillion in 2026 to 392.6 trillion in 2027.
Although mandatory transfers to pensions, health, and education concentrate 75.8 percent of all national operating expenses, the combination of personnel expenses and operational investment totals 90.2 trillion pesos.
To offset the increase in payroll and adjust public finances, in the new budget, the purchase of goods and services will see a cut of 2.8 trillion pesos, meaning this item will fall by about 14 percent, dropping from 20.7 trillion assigned in 2026 to 17.8 trillion projected for 2027.
The salary adjustment is not the only factor that reconfigures the country’s accounts.
The Ministry of Finance explained that the cost of debt service will also record a considerable increase of 37.4 trillion pesos, derived from the maturity of short-term securities contracted at higher interest rates.
The recognition of these omitted items completely changes the country’s fiscal picture: the Government deficit for 2026 —excluding interest payments— will not be the initially announced 2.1 percent of GDP, but will rise to 4.4 percent of GDP.
The goal of the new economic team is to contain that primary deficit at 3.3 percent of GDP through the immediate application of a spending deferral decree and the subsequent filing of the Economic Rescue Law in the third commissions of Congress. They also askedCongress to support the initiative and described the bill as a fundamental law to restore confidence in the economy.
“The budget includes austerity measures. Bureaucratic expenses are adjusted to inflation after years of waste,” said the head of the finance ministry.
Thus, the Government plans to set a path to reduce the fiscal deficit to 2.3 percent of GDP in 2027, ensuring that the transparent recognition of payroll, pension, and health obligations does not compromise the sustainability of Colombia’s public debt in the medium term.