Page Seven / La Paz
This year there will be no second Christmas bonus because the 12-month growth, from July 2020 to June 2021, only reaches 1.43%, reported the Ministry of Economy. The Central Obrera Boliviana (COB) resigned and the businessmen indicated that no sector was in a position to assume the payment.
The Minister of Economy, Marcelo Montenegro, made official that this year the benefit will not be paid because the growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) between July 2020 and June 2021, compared to the same period as of June 2020, was 1.43 %.
Supreme Decree 1802 of the Second Strenna “Effort for Bolivia” states that in order to comply with the benefit, the GDP growth rate observed in a previous 12-month period, until June of each management, will be considered, which must be equal to or greater than 4 ,5%.
Montenegro explained that from July 2020 to October 2020 there was a decrease of -8.9% and from November 2020 to June 2021 the growth reached a growth of 7.4%.
But the accumulated expansion from July 2020 to June 2021 only showed a growth of 1.43%.
In GDP values, from the third quarter of 2019 to the second quarter, 20,755 million bolivianos were generated.
But between the third quarter of 2020 and the second quarter of 2021 the value was 22,697 million bolivianos, that is, 1.43% more. “Therefore, the increase that has been achieved here (November 2020-June 2021), although positive, has not been enough to overcome the sharp drop (November 2019-June 2020) and the low recovery (July 2020-October 2020 ), in relation to the good management that existed between July 2019-October 2019, ”he said.
Montenegro stated that the economic mismanagement and deficient administration of the pandemic of the previous government took its toll and is the reason why there is no double bonus today.
“Something that has made it impossible is the economic disaster that was very strong from November 2019 to July 2020. Efforts have been made, but the economy does not recover adequately from November 2020 to June 2021 and it was not enough. We are on the right track, we hope that next year we can achieve growth greater than 4.5% ”, he stressed.
The manager of the National Chamber of Commerce (CNC), Gustavo Jáuregui, pointed out that the government’s announcement gives certainty to economic agents because no sector was in a position to pay a double bonus due to the crisis.
“It was very difficult to overcome the supply and demand shock that occurred due to the pandemic and the confinement and when goods and services stopped being produced for 4,000 million dollars and this year it was not possible to generate better indicators either because the measures to boost supply they weren’t enough, “he said.
The Finance Secretary of the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), Milton Zelada, pointed out that the workers understand the situation and that the benefit is not being paid because they are aware of the crisis in 2020. For the organization, he said that it is important that the job stability and social measures.
For the Bolivian Center for Economic Studies (Cebec) of Cainco, the decision not to pay the double bonus is correct because growth reflects the slow recovery of the economy, which, in turn, has been reflected in lower family and business income .
Crisis and risks
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Impact For the Cebec of Cainco, the productive units are without resources and survive the aftermath of the pandemic and if the double bonus was activated it would have been counterproductive for employment.
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Mypes Microentrepreneurs reacted with relief because they assure that they have not reactivated yet and have debts.
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Prediction The economist Gonzalo Chávez was ironic with the government’s announcement. “Nostradamus Chávez said it on October 9, 2021, that the growth of the economy would be 1.43% and there would be no second Christmas bonus.” And he asked: Why did the Government take a month to deliver that data? “Hypothesis: they probably did not want to overshadow the wonderful report made by the president using a shower of macroeconomic data much more positive than the meager 1.43%,” the UCB master’s professor added.
