Colombia’s Congress approved the 2027 national budget of 200 billion dollars on October 20, igniting a backlash from opposition lawmakers who say the plan favors debt payments and financial interests over education, peace and regional development.

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The approval of the General Budget of Colombia for 2027 capped a tense legislative session.

President Abelardo de la Espriella’s government secured passage of the law, worth 634.9 trillion Colombian pesos (about $200 billion), over the objections of the opposition, which was led mainly by the Historic Pact party.

RELATED: Colombia’s First National Strike Against De la Espriella Met With Police Crackdown

Representative María Fernanda Carrascal described the debate as a “disaster” and faulted the national government for refusing to accept any of the 700 proposals submitted by her party. The initiatives sought to channel more resources into public education, support for victims of violence and the regions, she detailed. Faced with the lack of agreement, the opposition walked out of the debate, stating it would not back a measure it considers harmful to the country.

The Historic Pact also questioned the law’s orientation, arguing that the government chose to protect financial entities, oligopolies and the most favored sectors. They further denounced that the project promotes over-indebtedness, which they say will end up shifting heavier tax burdens onto Colombian citizens.

🇨🇴 ¡Colombia tiene Presupuesto para 2027!
El Congreso de la República aprobó por $634,9 billones el Presupuesto de la Verdad, el primer paso para volver a encaminar la economía del país hacia el crecimiento, la responsabilidad fiscal y la atención de las necesidades del país. pic.twitter.com/pHiLhYzVTU

— MinHacienda (@MinHacienda) October 20, 2026

Text reads: “Colombia has budget for 2027! The Congress of the Republic approved the Truth Budget for $634.9 trillion, the first step to reorient the country’s economy toward growth, fiscal responsibility, and meeting the country’s needs.”

Other voices in the legislature added their objections. Senator Jennifer Pedraza of the Dignity and Commitment party (Dignidad y Compromiso, in Spanish) criticized the absence of a fixed allocation to address the consequences of the earthquake that struck on August 10. She questioned the fact that assistance to hard-hit departments such as Risaralda, Chocó and Valle del Cauca depends solely on leftover budget balances.

Senator Ariel Ávila, in turn, lamented the underfunding of resources earmarked for electric infrastructure and energization in non-interconnected zones such as Vichada, Guainía, Arauca, Putumayo and Vaupés. He also pointed to a lack of concern for victims of the armed conflict and what he called a budgetary strangling of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP).

After the law’s validation, Congress gave the Executive 90 days to draft a fiscal adjustment plan, which the national administration has called the Rescue Law. The Ministry of Finance and the cabinet are already holding talks with the International Monetary Fund, a signal that new credit instruments and the conditions attached to them may be on the negotiating table.

Mobilization Set for November

The Historic Pact called on citizens to join a national mobilization on November 24 to reject the budget. The party maintains that the project raises debt service by 46% while cutting investment in the Special Jurisdiction for Peace by 82% and stripping 500 billion Colombian pesos (about $157 million) from the National Learning Service (SENA).

Lawmakers also warned that 14 departments will see their real investment shrink. They denounced that the norm prioritizes debt repayment over the financing of peace, education and regional development. “The complaint is clear: more resources for debt and less for peace, education and the regions,” the party stated on social media.

The mobilization announced for late November now stands as the opposition’s next test of strength. In the meantime, the government’s 90-day clock to deliver its fiscal adjustment plan is running, and the talks with the International Monetary Fund could define the conditions under which Colombia finances its 2027 spending. The opposition has vowed to keep the pressure on, both in the streets and in the legislature.

📢 ¡24 DE NOVIEMBRE: MOVILIZACIÓN NACIONAL!

La bancada del Pacto Histórico llama a la movilización frente al Presupuesto 2027 del Gobierno de Abelardo de la Espriella, por $634,9 billones.

Según la bancada, el servicio de la deuda aumenta un 46%, la inversión de la JEP cae un… pic.twitter.com/F5IYf2YDVb

— Pacto Histórico Oficial (@PactoCol) October 20, 2026

Text reads: “November 24: National Mobilization! The Historic Pact bench calls for mobilization against the 2027 budget of the government of Abelardo de la Espriella, for $634.9 billion. According to the bank, debt service increases by 46%, Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) investment falls by 82%, National Learning Service (SENA) loses $500 billion, and 14 departments will receive less real investment. The denunciation is clear: more resources for debt and less for peace, education, and regions.”

Ukraine is seeking fresh funding for 2027 and says it is ready to deliver the reforms. Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi says Ukraine’s external budget financing need for 2027 exceeds $52 billion, with more than $32.6 billion still to be raised.

That money underwrites the basics of a country at war: the army, pensions, hospitals, and support for business, he notes. Defense and security alone will take almost 44 percent of GDP in the 2027 budget, and the gap comes as Russia keeps hammering the infrastructure that generates Ukraine’s own revenue.

“The defense capability of the country, the payment of pensions, the support of hospitals and business depend on these funds,” Koretskyi says.

The hole Russia keeps digging faster than Kyiv can fill it

Russia’s strikes widen the gap even as Kyiv tries to close it. Russia systematically attacks critical infrastructure, business, production and civilian sites, and the destruction and halted enterprises will leave tax revenues about $1.5 billion below forecast by the end of the year, he warns.

For instance, output of Ukraine's steel industry, one of the pillars of its wartime economy, fell 57.3% in August due to Russian strikes. This sector is Ukraine's second-largest foreign-currency earner, employing more than 70,000 people directly and another 250,000 in related industries, and paying close to $1 billion a year in taxes.

Beyond the budget itself, the off-budget needs of Ukraine’s Defense Forces for 2027 are estimated at $45 billion, or about 40 billion euros, a figure that sits on top of the $52 billion budget requirement, he says.

The reforms Kyiv must deliver to unlock the money

The money hinges on reforms Ukraine still has to deliver. In the next few days, the government is to approve all the decisions needed to continue financing.

“Ukraine continues to work on fulfilling its part of the commitments. This week, the government is expected to approve all the necessary decisions to ensure continued funding,” the Ukrainian prime minister says.

Meanwhile, the Parliament plans to consider the bills required under the support programs of the IMF, the World Bank and the EU.

Russia is spending more on the war than at any point since it began. Russia's military funding is on track to hit a record this year after President Vladimir Putin added almost $60 billion to the outlays set in the budget, Bloomberg reports, citing people close to the government.

Defense spending is expected to approach about $199 billion by the end of 2026, roughly 40% above the plan Moscow announced in late 2025. That reverses the course of a year ago, when the Kremlin meant to slow military growth, narrow its deficit, and rebuild reserves drained by the war.

Alaska was the turning point

Putin ordered the shift late last year, after concluding that talks with the US in Alaska would not produce an acceptable deal to end the fighting, the report says.

By January, the Kremlin judged an agreement with Ukraine to be out of reach, and the government began accelerating advance payments to defense firms and raising other war-related spending.

"The government is finally budgeting for a prolonged war in Ukraine, but still understates its cost," Bloomberg Economics economist Ekaterina Vlasova said.

The deficit nearly doubles

Paying for the war has blown out the budget. The projected 2026 deficit has climbed to more than $81 billion, up from about $44 billion as first planned, and the government covered the extra spending through increased domestic borrowing and gold sales.

The budget plans years of war

The spending is not set to fall soon. Under the budget plans, Russia's military outlays reach about $200 billion in 2027, then ease to $194 billion in 2028 and about $191 billion in 2029, a signal that Moscow is planning for a long war.

Earlier, Euromaidan Press reported that Russia was raising 2027 defense spending by 27% to a record, even as its deficit widens and oil and gas revenues fall.