New Delhi, Jan. 22 -- Colombia's president on Tuesday reduced wages for members of Congress by approximately 30%, as the South American nation faces a budget crunch and gets ready to hold elections in the first semester of this year.

Congress members in Colombia earned approximately $13,000 a month last year, an amount that was about 32 times greater than the nation's minimum wage.

The vast disparity in the earnings of legislators and average Colombians has often come under scrutiny in the South American country, with some members of Congress in recent years proposing bills to reduce their own wages.

But those initiatives have failed multiple times, and have been blocked by legislators who have argued that they need high wages for myri...