Fiscal continuities of federalism: Cundinamarca, 1884-1910

Abstract

This article studies the effects of the 1886 political centralization on the public finances of Cundinamarca. This process took place along with the economic expansion that started in 1882. Coffee, a commodity that was emerging as the main export product, led this growth. Since the finances of the central government depended on foreign trade taxes, Cundinamarca maintained the fiscal structure created in the federal period (1852-1886) and a certain level of autonomy. Centralization was ultimately established during the 1905 economic crisis when the government looked to the regional finances as a source of financing the economic recovery after the Thousand Days War.