Asunción, Agencia IP.- «Governments must wait for the opportune moment to implement significant reforms during their tenure because there are political cycles,» stated the Minister of Economy and Finance, Carlos Fernández, while analyzing the initial months of Santiago Peña’s administration.
The significant reforms implemented involve consolidating state entities to establish the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the National Directorate of Tax Revenues.
The latest of these reforms is the creation of the Superintendence of Pensions and Retirements, sanctioned by Congress and promulgated by the Executive last week.
In an interview with Paraguay TV, the Minister of Economy also highlighted that the macro economy is robust and has recovered, with inflation below the projections of the Central Bank.
Next week, the first bonds will be issued following the enactment of the law authorizing extraordinary financial measures to pay off state debts of $600 million to construction and pharmaceutical companies.
These initial bonds will be used to finance the debts of the Ministry of Public Works (MOPC), Fernández disclosed.
Fiscal convergence
At another point in the interview, Minister Fernández explained that fiscal convergence is already underway. By 2026, they expect to achieve the Fiscal Responsibility Law (LRF) target: cap the fiscal deficit at 1.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
«Until 2018, 50% of the projects were funded by own resources and the other half by debt. Currently, 100% of the projects are financed by debt, and we must change that as soon as possible,» he noted.