This essay displays an empirical verification to the “political business cycle” hypotheses applied to 547 Colombian towns from 1989 to 2008. The econometric study reveals that smaller towns exhibit a cycle in public investment and fiscal deficit: both variables increase before elections and fall down after them. These results are placed in Colombian social context to discuss why the cycle occurs in those towns and the coincidence with huge differences in the efficiency of public expenditure. Some policies are recommended in order to reduce the adverse effects of this cycle and improve that efficiency.