Protests in the interior of the country hit the economy of thousands of businesses and companies in general. According to the Lima Chamber of Commerce (CCL), daily sales losses in Amazonas, Apurímac, Arequipa, Cusco, Madre de Dios and Fist amount to S/672 million.
Of this amount, S/170 million correspond to the Commerce sector, followed by Mining and hydrocarbons with S/161 million and Services with S/149 million.
Other sectors where losses are also observed are Manufacturing (S/57 million), Agriculture (S/37 million), Construction (S/33 million) and Turism and hotelery (S/7 million).
The head of the Institute of Economics and Business Development (Iedep) of the CCL, Óscar Chávez, explained to this newspaper that potential sales are taken into account for the calculation.
The CCL figures also reveal daily losses in public investment. Taking into account the six regions, what is left to invest amounts to S/31.6 million.
Cusco is the most affected area since it would be failing to disburse more than S/12.4 million. For its part, in Arequipa no more than S/5.8 million would be spent and in Puno S/5.5 million.
In Apurímac the figures amount to S/3.8 million, while in Amazonas to S/2.7 million and in Madre de Dios to S/1.3 million.
On the other hand, the business union pointed out that, As a result of the protests, in these regions the three levels of government together stop investing S/31 million.
“What is being considered is that no work is being done and that the entire region is paralyzed,” said the representative of the Iedep of the CCL.
It should be noted that the six regions mentioned represent 14.6% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and 29.4% of the primary GDP (Agriculture, Fishing and Mining and hydrocarbons).
LACK OF EXECUTION
On the other hand, the Peruvian Institute of Economy (IPE) revealed that although last year public investment increased by 9%, thanks to disbursements from regional and local governments, of the S/66,000 budgeted for that purpose, S/ 19,000 million remained unexecuted.
With this money, 100 level II specialized hospitals could be built and equipped, or access to drinking water improved and expanded for 13 million inhabitants.
“You could also build, implement and operate 200 high-performance schools, or build, maintain and operate 10 times the 475-kilometer Autopista del Sol Trujillo-Sullana,” he said.
The head of the IPE, Víctor Fuentes, explained that last year the national government mainly had problems executing the budget as a result of corruption cases and the placement of officials who were not suitable for the position.
Likewise, he estimated that this year state investment would fall 1.4%, among other things, because the lack of experience of some authorities “and the clean slate of others” will end up weighing on this factor. The campaign for the elections would also have an impact.
However, this setback could be less to the extent that there is support from the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Keep in mind
-In 2022, Tumbes, Áncash, Cajamarca and Huánuco, executed less public investment, indicated the IPE.
-He reported that the main infrastructure projects presented low progress, such as the restart of Majes II and the expansion of the Jorge Chávez international airport.
