The comment by Ricardo Bonilla, Minister of Finance, published on his Twitter account on July 8, in the sense that the High seizures of coca leaf have led to a reduction in its price, He left a series of criticisms among his own and strangers, not only because the official figures show that these seizures have been less than what was stated by the official, but also because the vast majority does not agree with his «theory», which indicates that a lower supply of a product leads to its market value also being reduced.
(Also read: Controversy over the idea of the Governor’s Ministry of Transport private cars at peak hours)
Magnitude of seizures reduced price of coca leaves, opportunity to grow coffee and cocoa, thanks @mindefense @Ivan_Velasquez_ @petrogustavo . The traffickers kick from @Weekly magazine, there must be a reason!!. Government of change advances and true peace will arrive. Forward.
– Ricardo Bonilla (@ricardobonillag) July 8, 2023
The rain of criticism of the trill of the man in charge of the country’s finances was not made almost as soon as his message began a circular through the aforementioned social network, some of which asked Minister Bonilla for more sanity and rigor in his comments, others that do not lie to the country.
Figures from the Ministry of Defense on the volume of seizures of both cocaine and the manual eradication of crops, mentioned by the Cambio Radical party, among others amid tweets on their Twitter accounts, indicate that the first reduced 18 percent and the second action fell more than 87 percent, both in the first five months of this year.
«Please Minister @ricardobonillag, rigorously. The country expects arguments with figures from you,» said political party commented on his account.
(You may also be interested in: Energy transition, in suspense due to the delays of 14 wind and solar megaprojects)
It was not the only rejection that the comment from the Minister of Finance received last Saturday, especially since what the official stated contradicts the economic theory of supply and demand.
«What a pod that this is the tone of the Minister of Finance, in theory of the government’s adult. It takes a lot of height away from him. He seems like a tweeter,» wrote journalist Danie Samper Ospina in turn.
Some of those who commented on the official’s trill thought that they were dealing with ‘fake news’, especially since Minister Bonilla insinuates that Semana magazine is linked to drug trafficking.
Some academics also criticized the country’s finance chief, who, through trills, reiterated that his theory is wrong. Daniel Mejia, a professor at the Universidad de los Andes, and Erick Behar from Business Berlin, state this in their respective accounts on the social network:
In his message, Mejía, who is also a Professor and researcher at the Co-editor Journal of Development Economics, comments:
Minister: cocaine seizures have been reduced by 18% so far this year, so your argument does not square with the figures published in @mindefense. Each one is the owner of his opinions, but not of his figures. You have to «date» better so as not to come out with inconsistencies. https://t.co/CyIytNwhTH
— Daniel Mejía (@DanielMejiaL) July 8, 2023
For his part, Erick Behar of Business Berlin, points out that:
Man, Ricardo, you don’t believe that story that scarcity reduces the price. If there is one solid result in economics, it is that scarcity raises prices. Horrible that academics who could have been serious indulge in cheap and perverse discourses of Petrism. One last. https://t.co/OnQ0Zs4sWi
— Prof. Erick (@ProfErickB) July 9, 2023