Experts see reducing current spending as key

What key issues should future presidential candidates raise in the campaign for the 2025 general elections? was the question that this medium asked two expert economists. Both agreed that the main point is to commit to reducing current spending.

However, they find it strange that at this point, when several candidates for the presidential seat have already started their campaigns and proposals to convince the population, they do not dare to propose that if they win the presidential seat, current spending will be reduced, as a short-term measure and at the same time private initiative will be encouraged.

But they do make macro proposals, for example, turning El Alto into a gigantic “free zone” (Manfred Reyes Villa), making the dollars return to the country in 100 days (Samuel Doria Medina), an agreement with the IMF, to save the Balance of Payments crisis (Tuto Quiroga).

“There is a lot of attack on the macro issue, when the first thing that has to be considered is cutting current spending. Nobody dares, not even the most liberal candidate, dares to say that he is going to cut current spending. It is the first thing they have to do because it is a measure with immediate effect,” economist Jimmy Osorio told EL DEBER.

The deputy and economist José Luis Porcel. He added that if the current spending of the Executive is reduced, the State can promote private initiative with microenterprises in all areas.

Reducing current spending is equivalent to reducing resources in state entities, and for example, Arce employees, instead of having vehicles and drivers to get around, use public transportation like the rest of the people. Porcel noted that instead of reducing that budget, the Executive increased the money for all ministries.

“The Ministry of the Presidency has a budget of 2,452 million bolivianos for the year, and the 17 ministries have 23 billion (…) only with the budget that the Ministry of the Presidency has is enough to generate more than 80 thousand sources of I work from January to December with the national minimum wage,” said deputy and economist José Luis Porcel.

Former president Tuto Quiroga and candidate for the Libre alliance, among his proposals, made reference to the issue: “We cannot have a State whose current expenditure the MAS has multiplied by 11, the drawbacks have multiplied by 9, all at the cost of wasting the gas and squander the dollars. The party is over and we will return to fiscal balance,” said Quiroga.

In this framework, economist Osorio proposed that to improve the financial health of the State, the first step is to cut current spending and then allocate those resources to public investment so that it has an immediate effect on job creation and commercial movement.

“Yes, there have to be shock measures without touching these two aspects: improving public investment and cutting current spending,” said Osorio.

The proposals are made on the threshold of 2025, a year of intense electoral campaign.