Colombia’s incoming finance minister wants fair capitalism

By ASTRID SUAREZ and MANUEL RUEDA
Associated Press

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s next finance minister says the left-leaning government taking office next month will focus on increasing taxes on the rich so it can spend more on poverty programs. But Columbia University econonist Jose Antonio Ocampo says the new administration will respect the autonomy of the central bank and work with ratings agencies on recovering the nation’s financial standing. He adds that foreign investment will continue to be welcome in Colombia. In his words: “We want a Western European kind of capitalism. Not a capitalist system in which the distribution of wealth is among the most uneven in the world.”