"There are many ways to define populism, but perhaps the most accurate is that it is a form of social and economic demagogy that sacrifices the future of a country for a fleeting present" - Mario Vargas Llosa
Editorial
In fits and starts, the president of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica has approved the state budget for 2015, after a majority of legislators voted against it, in an arbitrary exercise supposedly covered in a legal vacuum on the subject. Previously, the Assembly had rejected three different motions containing spending cuts in the budget, including one generated from the very same Ministry.
While the budget increases, the Solis administration is requesting World Bank loans to cushion the public debt, transferring the weight of the expenses to future Costa Rican generations.
EDITORIAL
The Ministry of Finance has asked the multilateral technical assistance agency to analyze the country's debt policy and for an additional loan, the amount of which is still unknown, in order to pay part of the interest on the state's current debt.
The academic corporatism which has come to power in Costa Rica brings a "vision of the world of the Social Democrats of the sixties and seventies."
An analysis carried out by Juan Carlos Hidalgo on his blog on Elfinancierocr.com on the proposed Costa Rican state budget points to a decalogue of macroeconomic horrors that besides contradicting election promises on cost containment and austerity, show an outdated vision of the new government regarding the alleged benefits of increased public spending in the functioning of a modern economy.
The Ministry of Finance has submitted the National General Budget for fiscal year 2014, which considers a 2.3% fiscal deficit.
According to Pavel Centeno, the Guatemalan Minister of Finance, the plan was developed in accordance with lower growth prospects, with a fiscal deficit of about 2.3%.
The current budget is $ 8.409 million and to two additional credits will be needed to finance it, and those have not yet been approved by the Legislative.
The Ministry of Finance has submitted to Congress the budget for next 2014, anticipating a deficit of 6.2%.
The documentation submitted by the chief of Finance, Edgar Ayales, with the breakdown of costs and revenues of the State for 2014, still shows growing figures in the red.
Finance Minister Edgar Ayales stressed the need for tax reforms and a realignment of state finances.