BOGOTA, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Colombia's government said on Wednesday it will enact its 2027 budget of 634.9 trillion pesos ($198.83 billion) by decree after a procedural error in Congress derailed final approval of the bill, testing the new administration's ability to manage public finances and reassure investors.
The Senate and lower chamber passed different versions of the budget bill earlier this week without reconciling the changes, causing lawmakers and legal experts to argue the process was invalid.
• Vice President Jose Manuel Restrepo said the government's original proposal, together with the amendments previously approved by lawmakers, will now take effect
• The Senate approved the bill on Monday night and the lower house passed it early Tuesday, but a disputed article was approved with different wording in each chamber and never went through the required conciliation process
• Colombia is facing widening fiscal pressures - the 2027 spending plan is larger than the 2026 budget of 555.8 trillion pesos and projects a fiscal deficit of 9.4% of gross domestic product
• Later on Wednesday President Abelardo De La Espriella replaced Interior Minister Rodrigo Lara with Alejandro Ordoñez
($1 = 3,193.1200 Colombian pesos)
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta and Carlos Vargas; Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Kylie Madry; Editing by Toby Chopra and Anthony Esposito)
