The figures contradict the story of Petro's land reform

The Colombian government’s claims about progress in its agrarian reform under President Gustavo Petro have been called into question by official data, according to reports from multiple independent sources. According to figures released by the National Land Agency (ANT), the agency received over nine billion pesos between 2023 and 2026, eight times more than during the previous administration led by Juan Manuel Santos and Carlos John Duque. Despite this increased funding, the number of land titles issued has remained low, with only 6 percent of the target for land purchases achieved and just 38.01 percent of the goal for land regularization completed. To communicate the supposed advances in the agrarian reform, the government used three distinct channels, each employing different methodologies. These included presidential speeches and state media such as Radio Televisión Colombia (RTVC), Vida newspaper, and social media accounts managed by the presidency and the ANT. Another channel was the Ministry of Agriculture's counter, while a third relied on the Integrated Information System for Post-conflict (Siipo), operated by the National Police Directorate (DNP). Only Siipo provides a publicly available, auditable methodology that allows comparisons with past administrations. Official statistics versus verified data show discrepancies across the period from 2022 to 2026. In October 2022, the government announced an agreement with Fedegan to purchase 3 million hectares from cattle ranchers, aligning with the National Development Plan’s (PND) target of delivering 3 million hectares through the Land Fund and formalizing 3.972 million hectares. However, by July 2026, only 24,000 hectares had been purchased from Fedegan out of the 587,089 offered, representing less than 4 percent of the target. In June 2023, the director of the ANT, Vega, stated that the annual target for land regularization was 1.7 million hectares and 500,000 hectares of new land per year. Yet, by the end of 2023, Siipo recorded only 654,796 hectares formalized, which marked the best performance of the four-year Petro term. Meanwhile, a communication published by the presidency claimed 1.4 million hectares were formalized within six months, though this claim was later removed from the platform. An internal report from the ANT suggested that over 600,000 hectares corresponded to land processed under previous governments. By January 2024, the government’s official newspaper, Vida, reported that 1.741 million hectares had been formalized and 230,000 hectares purchased. However, La Silla Vacía, an independent watchdog, described these figures as misleading. In May 2025, the ANT reported 1.5 million hectares formalized, yet by June 2026, the Siipo system showed only 1.509 million hectares formalized, representing 38.01 percent of the total target. The same system indicated that only 95,700 hectares of the 1.5 million targeted for purchase had actually been acquired. Further inconsistencies emerged as the campaign season approached. When former minister Harman resigned to run for office alongside Ivan Cepeda, he cited 783,000 hectares allocated to the Land Fund and 2.3 million hectares formalized. On social media platforms, the ANT initially claimed over one million families had become landowners, but days later, the agency revised that figure to 118,000 beneficiaries. At an official event in Monteria, President Petro claimed 1 million hectares had been added to the Land Fund, though this was not supported by the Siipo records. According to the latest data from Siipo as of June 30, 2026, the formalization rate stood at 38.01 percent of the 3.972 million hectares target, while land purchases reached only 6.38 percent of the 1.5 million hectares goal. The ANT confirmed that of the 95,665 hectares acquired, only 44,984 had been officially transferred. These figures highlight a significant gap between the government’s public statements and the actual outcomes, raising questions about transparency and accountability in the implementation of the agrarian reform.