"The numbers are going to look like a recession. Let's be aware that right now, the future of the country is at play," said Bruce Mac Master, the country's main business union leader.

The National Association of Industrialists (ANDI), the largest business organization in Colombia, has described the country’s low Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the first quarter as "bad news."

The president of ANDI, Bruce Mac Master, made the assessment soon after the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) announced last Wednesday that Colombia's GDP grew by 0.7% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024.

According to the business leader, if similar figures continue throughout the coming quarters, 2024 could be a bad year in terms of economic growth. "If the trend continues like this, we are going to end up having a really bad year in 2024," he said.

This result will not be bad "only for the present days", but it will also lead to the construction of a "very bad" base for the coming years as the country will lack "new capabilities, new jobs and new
opportunities".

"The figures are going to resemble a recession. Let's be aware that the country’s future is at play at this moment," Mac Master affirmed in a video released through his 'X' account (formerly Twitter).

Against this background, the business leader put a lot of responsibility on the government's action, stating that "it is in their hands" to be able to reactivate the economy. MacMaster showed particular concern for sectors such as construction and infrastructure, where there current are very few developments in progress.

"It is in the hands of the government to create the conditions for Colombia to be a good destination for investment," he stressed while asking the authorities not to insist on generating conditions of uncertainty with
reforms that generate big concerns to investors.