The World Bank and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration opened lines of credit to the Government of El Salvador to meet its 2022 commitments. According to these two agencies, it is $320 million that can be used to reimburse expenses already executed by the government or to cover the gas subsidy and other costs not foreseen by the increase in fuel prices. The Treasury has already managed to get the Assembly to approve one of the two credits with a decree that guarantees the first disbursement.
These $330 million in loans are new resources that give the Government room for maneuver so that it can prepare for the debt maturities of January 2023. In the face of the increase in the item, it must allocate to the payment of “public debt.” Since March, the Treasury has been preparing a fiscal adjustment plan to increase its revenue collection by $380 million and a savings plan of $674 million so as not to fall into default next year, according to internal Treasury documents to which El Faro had access.
The allocation in this year’s Budget to pay the public debt (capital and interest) is $1,430 million, according to the 2022 Budget Law. As September approaches, the Government must prepare the 2023 Budget, and according to internal Treasury documents, it needs to allocate $2,023 million for next year’s public debt repayment.
That the item to be allocated in the Budget for payment of public debt goes from $1,430 (from the 2022 Budget) to $2,023 million (from the 2023 Budget) is explained by the fact that in January 2023, bonds of $800 million mature and creditors will ask the Government to pay them. Investors have expressed concern about the Government’s ability to honor this commitment.
Ricardo Castaneda, an expert economist at the Central American Institute of Fiscal Studies (Icefi), explains that these credits give the Government oxygen and possibly help it pay the $800 million in January 2023. However, he also said that public finances are still in a coma. “The mechanism used by BCIE and the World Bank is to give money to the Government for expenses already incurred by the Government,” he said. “The Government only makes financing substitutions, and that gives it room for maneuver, but in addition to the January 2023 bonds, it still does not pool resources to pay off the short-term debt, about $1.2 billion, and in September, more than $500 million mature and we do not know if it will have the capacity to do so.”
El Faro: https://elfaro.net/es/202206/el_salvador/26245
BCIE y Banco Mundial lanzan un salvavidas millonario al Gobierno de El Salvador
El Banco Mundial y el Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica abrieron líneas de créditos al Gobierno de El Salvador para que cumpla sus compromisos de 2022. Son $320 millones que, según estos dos organismos, pueden ser usados para reembolsar gastos ya ejecutados por el gobierno o para hacer frente al subsidio al gas y a otros gastos no previstos por el aumento en los precios de los combustibles. Hacienda ya logró que la Asamblea apruebe uno de los dos créditos con un decreto que avala el primer desembolso.
Estos $330 millones, en préstamos, son nuevos recursos que le dan al Gobierno margen de maniobra para que pueda prepararse para los vencimientos de deuda de enero de 2023 y ante el aumento en la partida que debe asignar al pago de “deuda pública”. Desde marzo, Hacienda prepara un plan de ajuste fiscal para aumentar en $380 millones su recaudación de ingresos y un plan de ahorro de $674 millones para no caer en default el próximo año, según documentos internos de Hacienda a los que El Faro tuvo acceso.
La asignación en el Presupuesto de este año para pagar deuda pública (capital e intereses) es de $1,430 millones, según la Ley de Presupuesto 2022. Conforme se acerca septiembre, el Gobierno debe alistar el Presupuesto 2023 y, según documentos internos de Hacienda, necesita asignar $2,023 millones para pago de deuda pública del próximo año.
Que la partida a asignar en el Presupuesto para pago de deuda pública pase de $1,430 (del Presupuesto 2022) a $2,023 millones (del Presupuesto de 2023) se explica porque en enero de 2023 vencen unos bonos por $800 millones y los acreedores van a solicitar al Gobierno que les pague. Los inversionistas se han mostrado preocupados por la capacidad del Gobierno de honrar este compromiso.