Yesterday, the reasons for not using the Fuel Price Stabilization Mechanism (Mepco) to cushion the rise were explained. "They left us without money. A state in bankruptcy, indebted by more than 49 billion dollars, and the state treasury completely empty," it was asserted.
When asked about the statement, the Minister of Finance asserted that "I would never use a word like that. I would never say that the state is bankrupt; what happens is that the state is in a deteriorated fiscal situation. " In this regard, today Alvarado told Radio Infinita that "as Minister Quiroz pointed out yesterday, we are in a deteriorated, complex fiscal situation, where the treasury, for the first time, was received practically at zero, with 40 million dollars, and where in January the outgoing government had to use credit authorizations established in the Budget Law to have resources for the state to function.
So, under those conditions, everything undoubtedly becomes much more complex and much more difficult. " Regarding whether this means that the state is bankrupt, the minister replied: "No. It is a complex, difficult fiscal situation.
But the state is much more than just a specific cash situation that we have to recover and work on to create growth opportunities, so that this growth can generate more tax revenue, and that revenue can, in one way or another, provide resources for the normal functioning of the state. " "I am using the same term that the minister used," he stated. When asked if he would use the expression "bankrupt," he answered, "No.
I think it is a more colloquial term, but ultimately it is a severe, narrow, complex fiscal situation that we, as a government, have the obligation to try to recover income to continue functioning as best as possible, without affecting social programs and the most vulnerable population.