Bruce Mac Master resigned as head of Colombia’s main industry lobby on 1 October, after weeks of tension with President Abelardo de la Espriella’s government and reports that ministers had been told not to meet with him. ANDI represents large companies in talks with the government on taxes, the budget and regulation. Its board reconfirmed Mac Master in early September through the end of 2027.
Business Lobby Shut Out
In a letter to ANDI’s board, Mac Master said “multiple pressures” had hurt the association’s ability to act freely and fulfil its functions with autonomy. He said he’d planned to work with the government on the country’s challenges, but unexpected circumstances in recent weeks changed his decision.
Mac Master said the board, its executive committee and he had tried everything to keep dialogue open. “All those attempts were fruitless,” he wrote, according to Semana. “We tried and did not succeed.” He said he hoped his departure would help “recover the joint work between the national government and the business community.” He also said checks and balances were essential to the limits “that protect democracy,” Infobae reported.
On 21 September, Semana reported that the presidency had said it would receive neither Mac Master nor anyone from ANDI while he held the post, and that the instruction had gone to all ministers. The Rio Times said it found no published written order; accounts of the veto rested on press reports, chiefly Semana.
Companies also left the association. Last week, sugar mills Incauca and Providencia and the firm Sucroal departed, Semana reported. Coca-Cola FEMSA, a major bottler, left ANDI’s beverage chamber and said it was considering leaving the association entirely. Six days before his resignation, Mac Master defended staying, writing that “ANDI is much more than its president.”
Interior Minister Rodrigo Lara called the resignation “an autonomous decision within ANDI” and said he had nothing to comment. Outside Congress, he described business associations as “spaces for dialogue” between companies and the government. “The more that communication flows and the easier it is, the better for both sides,” he said.
ANDI’s board must choose a new president; reports on 1 October named no successor. The first test identified in the report was whether ministers would resume meetings with the association. Mac Master’s departure changed no law, tax or trade rule. He framed his exit as a way to restore cooperation.
A Party Break Without a Formal Split
Former senator María Fernanda Cabal announced on 1 October that she was leaving Centro Democrático, the right-wing party founded by former president Álvaro Uribe. She spent 12 years in Congress with the party’s backing and holds no congressional seat. She plans to present a political movement of her own on 3 October, with the 2027 regional elections among its stated stakes.
Cabal said she’d sought an orderly departure. On 4 August she filed a formal request for an escisión, seeking “an institutional, respectful and democratic exit” that would let both sides address what she called doctrinal differences. “I waited for an answer because I considered this the right path,” she said, as quoted by El Tiempo. “To this day I have not received it.” She told Caracol Radio, “Not acknowledging receipt is also an answer.”
Cabal said the party’s base is right-wing but its ideas had blurred, particularly in the last campaign. “I feel there is a natural prejudice against the word ‘right’ on the part of President Uribe,” she said. Centro Democrático selected Senator Paloma Valencia over Cabal and Paola Holguín as its 2026 presidential candidate. Valencia finished third in the first round on 31 May; Abelardo de la Espriella won the June runoff and took office on 7 August.
Cabal said she remained grateful and respectful toward Uribe and her former colleagues, but substantive differences made her departure necessary. “I hold no grudge or resentment,” she told Blu Radio. “What I do feel, in a way, is ingratitude.” The party thanked her for her service and wished her success. Uribe posted, “For Dr María Fernanda Cabal, always respect.”
Cabal said she wants her movement to become a party, choose candidates for the 2027 regional elections and build toward the 2030 presidential race. Her departure wasn’t a formal split: the request for an escisión was never granted, and the move did not change the party’s congressional seats.