Colombia: Fired DANE Chief Ricardo Valencia Defends His Numbers
Key Facts — What happened. Ricardo Valencia, fired as director of DANE (Colombia’s national statistics agency) on 14 September, is now publicly defending the data that got him removed. — What he said. Valencia told local media DANE’s technical independence “is sacred,” and that he stands by his reading of the July unemployment data. — […] The post Colombia: Fired DANE Chief Ricardo Valencia…
Colombia's former statistics chief Ricardo Valencia defended his work and DANE's technical independence after his sudden removal. At a press conference, Valencia claimed he found no evidence of data manipulation under the outgoing Petro administration. However, the government accused him of not ordering necessary audits and of breaking a directive that requires prior approval for public statements.
Valencia denied receiving any official warnings, claiming he was unaware of any dissatisfaction from the presidency. The government removed Valencia after he declared the July labor-market figures as accurate without conducting the requested audits. The dispute is not about the accuracy of the numbers but rather about who has the authority to confirm their validity and how quickly someone can be removed from the position.
Written by urgent.news from The Rio Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
