Letter to business owners

By: Francisco Santos - 24/03/2025

Mr. Colombian businessman:

You have built the country. You provide jobs, pay taxes, and create wealth. Your efforts are the fundamental foundation of today's Colombia. Perhaps your great-grandfather or grandfather arrived with nothing, like most Jews or Turks, as they called the Palestinians, Lebanese, and Syrians, who were part of the Ottoman Empire and arrived in Colombia in the early and mid-20th century.

Their efforts, and those of today's, created large companies such as Sanford, Rimax, Yuppi, Fedco, El Ley, Lafrancol, Fedco, and La 14. Not to mention Olímpica, Corbeta, Alkosto, and Supertex, to name just a few of the companies that grew out of the low migration rate that Colombia experienced compared to other countries in the region.

Perhaps you were a child of public education, or perhaps you suddenly decided to start an insurance company in 1940. There are countless stories like these that have left behind names like Davivienda, Colpatria, Banco de Bogotá, Éxito, Sura, and so many other companies that are a source of pride for their founders, their families, their shareholders, and Colombia.

You, Mr. Businessman, endured liberal-conservative violence and called a general strike to remove dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla from power. You also withstood the onslaught of drug trafficking and guerrillas, with children, parents, and siblings kidnapped and murdered. You also became resilient, for in the crisis of insecurity the country experienced, you learned to navigate the stormy waters that others would have abandoned.

However, I regret to tell you, Mr. Businessman, nothing had prepared you for what's coming, for what Colombia is about to experience, and for the immense risk to what you've built over decades of work. I know that talking to you about Venezuela and how, in just a few years, the entire private sector and the wealth of the richest country on the continent were destroyed sounds repetitive to you. "Don't come to me with that story again," is what you're thinking, but the truth is that the fight for democracy in this country has truly begun. And you, Mr. Businessman, must play a fundamental role.

First of all, don't think that 2026 will be a normal year with normal elections. Hopefully, we'll make it to 2026, because Petro has already launched a campaign and actions that will deteriorate the country perhaps irreversibly if we don't do something. The departure of the Finance Minister, who wasn't an orthodox minister in the field, but was certainly a well-prepared man, has a reason: we're going to spend, spend, and spend to achieve the goal: to remain in power personally or through a proxy.

You, businessmen, are a top military and political target. You are the "oligarchs" he mentions in his speeches and on his social media, and the major political and economic offensive that is about to begin is against you and your businesses.

Petro has already announced that he will implement labor reforms, as well as health reforms, through decrees. The appointment of this woman to ANLA—her name isn't even worth mentioning—has another objective: to blackmail them with environmental issues in order to subdue them. From his crazy speech in Bolívar Square, he announced—when you read between the lines—what's coming: an all-out war against democracy, against institutions, against freedom of the press, and against the private sector.

What to do? The first thing is to overcome timidity and counterattack the enemy. Petro attacks them, so we must defend ourselves. Believing the storm will pass is playing the same game the businessmen played in Venezuela, and look how they ended up. We must design actions now to neutralize everything Petro and his allies, who are a minority in the country, want to do.

We must raise awareness among each of our workers, suppliers, and even consumers. In a simple yet detailed way, we must make it clear to them what they will lose: their job, their home, their business, and their future if we remain silent. Each of them must be an activist in defense of democracy and institutions.

We also need to put together a massive communications strategy now, including on television, to neutralize Petro's lies and destroy the narratives he seeks to create. He has his stores paid for with taxpayer money, and we need to do the same. For example, how is it possible that people are starting to believe that the medicine issue is about the EPS and not the destruction of the system that Petro and his minister are committed to? We need to turn this and other issues around with a significant investment in strategic communications, from advertising to social media, geared toward a specific objective. Remember, we must overcome shyness.

We must prepare for a strike like the one in '57, which ousted Rojas. Petro won't stop until he destroys the country and makes himself look like the victim. This must be an option when everything is at stake. That will be soon.

We must also finance, support, and join a massive national mobilization that must confront Petro's streets. We'll soon know when and how it should happen, but we must take to the streets to prevent Petro and his allies, all of whom are paid off, from giving up that space. Remember, no more timidity.

There are many other things to do. But this is the first step. Petro has already started. When will we start? There's no time to waste.

Sincerely and with great pain.

Francisco Santos

«The opinions published herein are the sole responsibility of its author».