Days Before Leaving Office, Petro Declared the El Niño Disaster. Is It Improvisation?

Environmental attorney María Camila Aponte was cited in an El Colombiano article about the declaration of a national disaster because of the imminent arrival of the El Niño phenomenon in Colombia. The decision, approved by the National Council on Risk and Disaster Management and announced by President Gustavo Petro, enables the expedition of decrees and resolutions to transfer resources and accelerate actions that protect water, food and energy during the dry season in 2026 and 2027. Ms. Aponte pointed out this tool allows for a more agile response to mobilize resources toward projects for water security, wildfire prevention, critical infrastructure improvement and exposed community protection, but she warned of three risks for direct contracting implicated by the emergency: "that resources are diverted toward projects unrelated to the crisis, that concurrent offers are reduced and proposals are compared technically, and that transparency decreases, which makes it more difficult to follow results."

READ: Days Before Leaving Office, Petro Declared the El Niño Disaster. Is It Improvisation?