Leonardo Villar, a prudent connoisseur of the economy like few others, has had to “show his claws” to deal with the poisonous insults hurled at him by both the head of state, Gustavo Petro, and the former guerrilla Minister of Finance Germán Ávila, in the sense of displaying a defensive and firm character that had not previously been manifested in the history of central bank managers.
Read more The secret to a perfect, bubble-free egg flan: why you need a steel flan mold with a lid
Leonardo Villar is an intellectual of exceptional caliber. And, as if that weren’t enough, a virtuoso baroque flutist. The differences between the two high-ranking officials are based on the autonomy of the issuing bank and decisions on interest rates, which contradict the government’s economic goals. The former guerrilla minister abandoned the central bank’s Board of Directors meeting in protest of the hundred-basis-point increase in the interest rate, which was set at 11.25%. He considered this measure irresponsible and detached from the country’s social reality.
Manager Villar reacted by raising his voice to ask for common sense in language and not to fall into false and irresponsible exaggerations, these indeed, of calling the decisions of the country’s highest monetary authority genocide. “I want, Mr. Minister, to ask the National Government to calm down and lower the tone of the language with which the relationship with the Bank of the Republic is being managed, and I want to ask for this because it benefits the country, it benefits stopping the open campaign of discredit against the Bank that the Government is currently carrying out. A campaign that harms, not the Bank, because its credibility is quite solid, but it harms the country insofar as international confidence does deteriorate when there is persistent insistence on attacking the Bank in ways that degrade the debate.”
Read more Brand perfumes you can buy for under 40 euros to gift on Mother’s Day
He also sent a letter to the former guerrilla minister refusing to participate in a government economic forum on April 21, 2026, in which he denounced a campaign of discredit and attacks that, according to Villar, affect technical and institutional dialogue. The former guerrilla minister responded by pointing out that the Bank’s decisions have implications for the upcoming elections and questioned the legitimacy of the board, warning that its positions favor the banking sector.
Villar has defended the technical autonomy of the Bank and has insisted that its constitutional mandate is to protect the purchasing power of the currency and not to follow orders from the Executive. In any case, and despite the heated atmosphere, the former guerrilla minister announced that he would return to the Bank’s Board of Directors meetings to resolve the differences, although he maintains his critical stance on the current level of interest rates. His return comes with a threat: President Petro notified the country that if the Bank raises the interest rate, he will “re-increase” the minimum wage. Petro added that it is foolish for the Bank’s policy to curb the economy. The fight will be long. Villar is sharpening his claws.
