policy
The academic from University College London would be offering her services through a draft project.
28/3/2023
There are few people whom President Gustavo Petro admires more than the Italian-American economist Mariana Mazzucato, author of several books and director of the Institute of Innovation and Public Service at University College London (UCL). Even during her visit to Bogotá, the academic was received at the Casa de Nariño last October.
According to the empty chairthe Government is contemplating hiring an advisor from the economist, which would have a value of 833,000 pounds sterling, which is equivalent to about 4,800 million pesos, not including taxes.
According to the outlet, the economist was the one who offered advice and presented the proposal through a draft titled “A green industrial strategy in Colombia.” The proposal would be in English and was submitted through the institute that Mazzucato runs at UCL.
“This project seeks to support the Colombian government in advancing a bold new industrial policy approach that fundamentally reimagines the role of the state as a market shaper,” says the document, according to The Empty Chair.
The advisory proposal was offered for one year, but the government plans to extend it, which would have an even higher cost. The economist even suggested that the Open Society, George Soros’s foundation, could be a co-financier of the initiative.
Mauricio Lizcano, director of the Administrative Department of the Presidency of the Republic, denied that the Government is contemplating hiring the economist Mariana Mazzucato as a consultant.
“It is false that the Presidency of the Republic wants to hire Mariana Mazzucato as a consultant for 4 billion pesos,” Lizcano clarified on Twitter.
Who also spoke about it was Mazzucato, who assured that the multi-million dollar contract with the Petro Government is “false”. However, there is a “collaboration” of the Presidency of the Republic with the Institute for Innovation and the Public Function of University College London, which the economist founded and directs.
Faced with the “collaboration” mentioned by Mazzucato, SEMANA consulted Dapre, who assured that there is no contract or collaboration with the institute led by the economist.
After the trill of the economist, the empty chair published the draft of Mazzucato’s proposal. Not only is it evident that it is a response to the “search for support” of the Colombian government, but also the prices of each stage of the consultancy are included.
“This support would take the form of a collaboration between the Government of Colombia, Professor Mariana Mazzucato and the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Function, which she founded and directs,” says the document, revealed by the portal.
The news of Mazzucato’s possible advice to the Petro Government has caused controversy not only because it could cost the country dearly, but also because the economist has fiercely criticized advisory services.
In his new book, The big scam one of the subtitles speaks harshly of the consultancies: “How the consulting industry has infantilized governments. (…) We see this outsourcing of internal capacity to consultants”, said the economist in an interview with Channel 4 from England.
“Mariana Mazzucato went head-on against the consultancies towards the State in her book economy mission. However, as an academic she should reconsider her role by promoting a consultancy from her this time. Finally we know thatthe value of things” it is on the market,” said Senator Ciro Ramírez, from the Democratic Center.
“For years the economist Mariana Mazzucato has argued that the consulting industry has weakened the capacities of the state and has infantilized it. Today Mazzucato herself presents a quote for 4,800 million pesos to President Petro to be his consultant,” the attorney said on Twitter.
Gustavo Petro is not the only left-wing Latin American president with whom the economist is close, since he also met at the end of last year with Gabriel Boric and Alberto Fernández, presidents of Chile and Argentina.