This paper studies the structural process of adjustment of the public finances in Colombia from 1998, for the purpose of examining, from a legal and political point of view in what measure said process the result of consensus inside the Colombian society and the consequences of that consensus or its absence; keeping in mind the importance of democratic legitimacy and the concept of pact. For this purpose, begins from the concept of citizen participation, its importance in Colombia from 1991 and its limits. Then it goes back to the origin of the fiscal and economic situation made it necessary the fiscal adjustment process and the extended agreement with the International Monetary Fund, subscribed in 1999.