Minister of Finance resigns

CENTRAL AMERICA - In Brief 23 Oct 2019 by Felix Delgado

---

The Finance Minister Ms. Rocio Aguilar resigned irrevocably today. Her resignation is not surprising for us. We have been criticizing the government ambivalence in several specific issues related to fiscal discipline and the principles promoted and defended by Ms. Aguilar. Two events were announced yesterday, associated with the responsibilities of Minister Aguilar. One was the General Comptroller decision recommending the president to suspend Ms. Aguilar from office for one month, due to her last year decision to authorize payments of debt without budget content (see our August 2018 report). The other was an agreement of the Executive with the public universities, reverting the Ministry of Finance decision to destine a part of the annual transference to investment, instead of current expenditure. Some months ago, the social security institution signed an agreement with its medical union about compensation benefits, deviating from a specific provision of the fiscal reform approved last December. That agreement was finally backed out attending to an order of the General Comptroller (see our September 2019 report).In a press conference this afternoon, Ms. Aguilar told that her decision responds exclusively to the recommended suspension, that she respects but also adverse. In her view, it would force the president to solve in one or the other direction, creating and unnecessary controversy, when …“… at this time, the country requiresspaces of tranquility, reflection and dialogue …”, as she said,to consolidate the adopted fiscal measures and to face the challenges to its application. Ms. Aguilar expressly rejected any connection of her resignation to the agreement with the...