*Colombia’s national planning director, Alexander López, has announced that the government is preparing austerity measures to cover a Col$12trn (US$2.8bn) shortfall in the 2025 national budget, which President Gustavo Petro promulgated by decree in late December after it was rejected by congress. In addition to the austerity plan, López said that the government is preparing to present congress with a new tax reform or financing bill to raise money for public investment. The Petro administration had hoped to raise the Col$12trn through a previous tax reform bill, but this was archived by congress in December.