The President of the Legislative Assembly, Mario Ponce, said that the draft budget presented by the Government “was configured not to be approved and, if it had been, the Chamber would have declared it unconstitutional”.
He The President of the Legislative Assembly, Mario Ponce He said in a television interview that the Executive set a trap for MPs with the budget bill because, by approving it as proposed, it was unconstitutional.
By not approving it, MPs would also have problems, as they would be accused of not providing funding for education and health ranks, in addition to other commitments, such as veterans.
He added that MPs are willing to approve the budget before the end of the year and have not gone on holiday, as government advertising Spotify says.
“This government has these characteristics, the characteristics of misinformation of the population, there the population falls into this error of believing them, the truth is that the Assembly was open, was willing to hold sessions on December 25, if possible 26, and if December 31 is possible, “Ponce said.
He mentioned that one of uNCONSTITUTIONALITY from the budget was that he did not take into account the 6% that by law correspond to the judicial body that needed 51 million dollars and also stressed that Fodes did not go to municipalities, which is not a gift for mayors, but it is an obligation of the law.
Read also: Bukele will sanction only a part of the decrees approved by the Assembly for the 2021 budget
“The budget as it was structured was unconstitutional, the amount of Fodes did not come, and the fact is that mayors are not a gift from this Executive or from any Executive of the future or the past, Fodes is constitutional,” he said Ponce.
He specified that the deputies in the country are attentive to any emergency situation and that for this reason he left the ordinary plenary 144 open for any appeal.
He also said that they will have to see what actions President Nayib Bukele will take regarding the 11 decrees he has received, whether they will be sanctioned, vetoed or with remarks in order to study the actions to be taken by the Assembly. .
Ponce stressed that the draft budget for 2021 also aims to make invisible non-governmental organizations that should be funded by the state, as it works for the benefit of vulnerable groups in society, such as Fundación Ayúdame a Vivir, which treats children with cancer and Fundación Padre Arrupe or the Institute for Cancer, among other organizations.
I don’t get more than $ 300 for mayors
The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Mario Ponce, also clarified that there is no additional $ 366 million in the municipal budget, as the government says in the television commercial.
He said it was a lie that so many funds were earmarked for mayors, but that municipalities needed funding for social work to prevent violence, such as building recreational facilities to reduce crime in populated areas.
“Not only do you have to teach them the stick when the level of crime increases, in certain areas of the population, you have to build sports venues to go to the prevention side, so that children are in the clutches of crime,” Ponce said.
In addition: Assembly approves 2021 budget with minimum pension increase to $ 304 per month
The presidency of the Assembly is not to get rich
The President of the Assembly also claimed that he led an honest leadership in front of the Salvadoran parliament, as this position is not to be enriched.
That he found an Assembly that rented space in high-value areas for $ 840,000, in addition to 60 employees who were illegally employed by GANA MP Guillermo Gallegos when he was chairman of the Legislative Assembly .
“The power we have is to approve the budget with reductions,” Zelaya said in a Frente a Frente interview.
The executive proposal was “unfeasible”
Ponce’s statements come after lawmakers approved the draft 2021 Budget on December 24, in the early hours of the morning, with some reallocations that will reduce spending, direct it to underfunded items and reduce the budget gap.
“Health, safety and education have not been met,” Ponce added on Monday.
“My term at the helm of the legislature was in line with the complicated 2020 approval, and with the 2021 approval, which was configured not to be approved, and if it were done, the House would have declared it unconstitutional.” he declared.
From $ 1,342.2 million in the draft budget presented by the government, deputies reduced the budget gap to $ 159 million. In the approved draft, MEPs also decided to ban ad honorem seats in 2021. It also includes a increase the pension from $ 204 to $ 304 per month.
For analysts and politicians, the Executive’s proposal was not viable, as it took into account an income that the Treasury will not receive due to the recession the country entered due to the closure of the economy due to the Covid-19 quarantine.
The National Development Foundation (Funds) said the government’s estimate of tax revenue you will have in 2021 it was unrealistic and observed that it had an overestimation of the collection between $ 647 million and $ 714.1 million when the economy is in recession.
Bukele, in turn, warned that he will sanction only some of the approved decrees and will veto others that contain readjustments of the games. The president of the republic made the announcement through social networks on Sunday. He announced that he will support the increase of pensions, proposed by an agreement between the parties ARENA, FMLN and PDC.