About 7:40 this Friday morning the Chamber of Deputies finalized the vote on the Rendering of Accounts. After long sessions in the lower house, the deputies approved the text with several changes with respect to what came from the Executive Branch, but on some points they did not reach agreement.
One of the most discussed was the elimination of the additional Solidarity Fund. The Executive Branch had established its repeal but without proposing compensation for the resources lost by the University of the Republic (Udelar). The deputies of the coalition negotiated until the last moment and in the last hours it seemed that there was white smoke. Nevertheless, the proposal did not have the necessary votes since Cabildo Abierto did not support the ruling party’s initiative.
In the initial agreement, it was the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) that was going to lose some funds to compensate Udelar. However, this generated the rejection of some deputies from Ciudadanos, the majority sector of the Colorado Party (and also some white senators), who announced that they would not support the motion.
In this context, the Colorado Party presented a new proposal that included the profits of the Development Fund (Fondes) (with the commitment of the Ministry of Economy to compensate the resources if profits were not generated) but CAbildo Abierto did not support this initiative and neither did the Broad Front.for what was left by the wayside and, for now, the additional Solidarity Fund, an extra contribution paid by some public university graduates and which was created as something transitory in times of crisis, will not be repealed.
Impressions
Lobbying deputy Eduardo Lust explained that his colleague, Álvaro Perrone —who acted as coordinator— transmitted to his party’s caucus that “there was no money to replace what is lost” for the repeal of the additional Solidarity Fund. For this reason and because “some senators have already announced that there was no possibility of supporting this project” is that Cabildo Abierto decided not to vote on that article, since “it was a sign that it was not going to prosper,” he told Telemundo (Channel 12).
For his part, Colorado legislator Conrado Rodríguez, one of the promoters of the new proposal, regretted not having reached a political agreement on this issue; “We hope that in the Senate it can be resumed”he indicated.
Despite this, the deputy from the Colorado Party expressed that it was “a great rendering of accounts”, with a “very important” budget increase “focused on sensitive areas of the administration”. He thus referred to public education, science, technology and innovation, or health as examples. “It is a different Surrender, it is a path of inflection so that the country continues on the path of growth and that growth can be distributed with equity and social justice,” she said.
From the National Party, Juan Martín Rodríguez described the bill as “very positive in general terms.” Regarding the lack of agreement on the resources for Udelar through the additional Solidarity Fund, the white deputy urged to “remove drama” from the matter: “This is about convincing. Perhaps in the Senate you will have more luck and it is possible to convince the hands that are needed” that it be approved, he pointed out to the aforementioned medium.
Finally, for the opposition, Gustavo Olmos, a member of the Front, said that his party is not “satisfied” with the bill “because does not respond to the problems of the great majority, especially the people who are having a worse time“. However, he recognized that in the parliamentary work “some improvements were achieved”, for example the non-repeal of the additional Solidarity Fund.
“It continues to have a consolidation of growth of about US $ 5,400 million, of which it will not spill anything to workers and passive […] But hey, work will continue in the Senate to see if we can further improve this Accountability,” he said.
