After presenting the cabinet of Yamandú Orsi, who will take over as president of Uruguay On March 1, the first meeting was between the outgoing authorities of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and the incoming ones. The next holder of that portfolio, Gabriel Oddonecomplained after the meeting about the fiscal situation he will receive next year, which is “more restrictive” than he imagined.
Her statements occurred in a context in which the current government asked to expand the debt limit because, according to the minister Azucena Arbeleche, the lowest inflation that there was in the country generated lower revenue. But, beyond this controversy, which country receives the Wide Front March 1st?
He MEF released a document in which he reported on the topics discussed during the meeting. The first point that the current economic team highlights is regarding the tax policy. One of the first measures of the government of Luis Lacalle For was the creation of a tax ruledesigned to control public spending. This model provided that three pillars had to be met, although two of the goals were not met.
The third goal refers to the government’s net debt and is the point that generated controversy last week: the MEF sent a letter to General Assembly invoking the clause that enables the debt ceiling to be increased by 30% (that is, from USD 2.3 billion to USD 2.9 billion).
“It is a demonstration that the fiscal situation is more restrictive than we imagined. “We all did a couple of years and, therefore, we have to be very careful in preparing the budget and managing public finances in the coming months,” he said. Odoupon knowing these results.
In the current government document, The MEF highlights that it is expected to end 2024 with a smaller structural deficit than in 2019.
A key point that Lacalle Pou’s management highlights is the drop in inflation, which has been within the range for 19 months Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU) was set as a goal (3%-6%). Is an achievement that the elected government promised to maintain. The MEF highlighted that inflation for the last 12 months ending in November was 5.03% and it is expected to close the year around that value.
Another achievement that the government highlights is regarding the employment, the real salary and the wage bill. The latest data reported by the National Institute of Statistics showed that unemployment fell to 7.2%, a sign that the labor market “remained dynamic in November,” according to the economist’s interpretation. Aldo Lema on the social network X. He highlighted that more than 49 thousand jobs were created in the last year.
He MEF maintains that employment data show that all jobs “lost due to the pandemic in addition to those lost in the previous five years” were recovered, the text says. It stands out that at the end of 2023 the real salary in Uruguay exceeded the end of 2019 by 1.9%.
Furthermore, the team led by Arbeleche wrote down a challenge for the new management: the renewal of the scope of collective bargaining (the joint ones). “This administration has laid the foundations to continue working within the framework of sectoral differentiation considering the dimension of tradables (sectors that have exposure to the foreign market) and non-tradables (sectors that only trade in the country), contemplating the size of the companies and with adjustments based on expected inflation.”
Among several of the points that stand out, the MEF mentions the credits that were granted to companies guaranteed by the State, the investment promotion policy and the opening of markets abroad. It points out the reform of social security, the financing of infrastructure and makes a reference to the “environment in economic policy”.
Regarding tax policy, the MEF assures that a “tax reduction” was achieved.
