Colombia's Congress starts a new session with reform agenda 

Colombia’s congress opened a new session on Wednesday to debate incoming President-elect Gustavo Petro’s proposed  reforms to combat poverty and inequality with new legislation.

Among the legislature’s first priorities is a tax reform that aims to raise $1.6 billion a year to fund social programs, Sen. Roy Barreras, who will lead Congress in the next year, told Reuters. 

Members of the Colombian Congress will also debate whether the country should pass a rural reform law aimed at tackling political corruption, and another that would create a new Peace and Security Ministry, Barreras added. 

"These are the priorities in the first months for reforms that mark a true change," said Barreras.

The rural reform seeks to reduce food imported from abroad and encourage local production. The political bill would fully finance electoral campaigns. The proposed Peace and Security Ministry would purportedly be the headquarters for the national police force as part of an attempt to remove them from the control of the defense ministry. The tax bill seeks to eliminate exemptions and raise taxes for high-income residents. 

The reforms come after Colombia elected Gustavo Petro to lead the nation earlier this year.

Petro, 62, is an economist, senator for the South American country, and a former guerrilla member. He will assume office on August 7.

Throughout his campaigns, he promised to restructure the police and ban new oil projects in favor of developing renewals, among other projects. 

Barreras added that the Congress will also debate creating a new Ministry of Equality before December, which would be led by Francia Marquez, a former housekeeper who will be the first black Woman to be Colombia’s vice president. 

"These are profound changes that mean the country can walk the path of social justice, of peace, of ending massacres, of stopping violence, of closing the gap of inequity... of preserving life," said Barreras.

In the first half of 2023, the legislature will debate other reforms to healthcare, justice, and pension systems.