WILLEMSTAD — The year 2025 will be remembered as one of the most consequential periods in Curaçao’s post-2010 history. It was a year defined not by political instability, but by political consolidation; not by economic collapse, but by fiscal confrontation; and not by a lack of plans, but by the growing realization that execution is Curaçao’s greatest challenge.
From a historic election victory to mounting audit pressure and international tax obligations, 2025 forced Curaçao to move from ambition to accountability.
Political Consolidation: Power Without Excuses
The defining political moment of 2025 came in March, when Movement for the Future of Curaçao (MFK), led by Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas, secured an absolute majority in Parliament. For the first time since becoming a country within the Kingdom, Curaçao was governed by a single party with full legislative control.
This victory brought political stability, but also eliminated traditional excuses. Coalition infighting, parliamentary deadlock, and shared responsibility were no longer factors. Governance outcomes — good or bad — became fully attributable to the ruling majority.
Throughout the year, this reality reshaped public debate. Opposition criticism mattered less than institutional benchmarks, oversight reports, and international obligations. Political power was no longer the issue; delivery was.
Economic Performance: Stability with Uneven Impact
Economically, 2025 was a year of relative macroeconomic stability, largely supported by tourism, logistics, and external demand. Visitor numbers remained strong, and government revenues benefited accordingly.
However, the benefits of growth were unevenly distributed. Cost-of-living pressures persisted, especially for lower-income households, while wage-based solutions proved insufficient in an economy with a large informal sector. The gap between headline growth and lived economic reality became a recurring theme.
The government faced growing pressure to balance social expectations with fiscal constraints — a tension that would dominate budget discussions throughout the year.
Public Finance: Audit Reality and Structural Weaknesses
No area exposed Curaçao’s systemic challenges more clearly than public financial management.
Repeated warnings from the General Audit Chamber of Curaçao revealed deep-rooted problems: unlawful expenditures, missing documentation, unresolved loans, incomplete asset registers, and delayed reforms. The scale of legality issues in past national accounts cast a long shadow over 2025.
At the same time, the Board of Financial Supervision (Cft) continued to emphasize fiscal discipline and warned against structural overspending. Oversight institutions became central actors in the political narrative — not as adversaries, but as mirrors reflecting uncomfortable truths.
The ambition to achieve a clean audit opinion by 2026 remained formally intact, but by year’s end it was clear that timelines were tight and risks substantial.
Tax Reform and International Pressure
One of the most sensitive dossiers of 2025 was the push to introduce a minimum tax for multinational enterprises, in line with OECD agreements.
The government chose speed over caution, arguing that delay would allow other countries to tax profits generated in Curaçao. Advisory bodies, however, warned of legal vulnerabilities, particularly around retroactive elements and incomplete execution frameworks.
The debate exposed a recurring pattern: Curaçao responding to international pressure faster than its administrative systems could realistically handle. While the policy direction aligned with global standards, execution capacity lagged behind.
This tension between credibility abroad and readiness at home became a defining governance challenge of the year.
Institutions Under Strain: Execution as the Weak Link
Across ministries and agencies, 2025 revealed a common constraint: institutional capacity.
Staff shortages, reliance on support organizations, delayed digital systems, and weak internal controls slowed implementation across policy areas — from taxation to healthcare to financial reporting. Reform fatigue became visible, not as resistance, but as exhaustion within an overstretched public administration.
By mid-year, it was widely acknowledged that Curaçao’s challenges were no longer primarily political. They were administrative, technical, and structural.
Society and Governance: Rising Expectations
Socially, 2025 was marked by heightened expectations. Political stability raised hopes for tangible improvements in safety, income security, and public services. At the same time, citizens became less tolerant of excuses and delays.
Public debates increasingly focused on outcomes rather than intentions. Transparency, accountability, and competence emerged as core demands — not just from critics, but from the electorate that had delivered a strong mandate.
The Year in Perspective
2025 was not a year of collapse, nor one of transformation completed. It was a year of reckoning.
Curaçao entered the year with political uncertainty and exited it with political dominance. It began with reform ambition and ended with reform realism. Most importantly, it became clear that the country’s future depends less on who governs, and more on how well institutions function.
Looking Ahead to 2026
As Curaçao moves into 2026, the challenge is unmistakable: turn authority into execution, plans into compliance, and stability into trust. The mandate exists. The frameworks exist. The pressure exists.
What remains is delivery.