The President of the Republic Guillermo Lasso said that something will happen if the oil exploitation in Yasuní is stopped ITT due to popular consultation: less social spending or less subsidies.
He expressed this when he recalled that about 1.2 billion dollars will be lost each year if crude oil is left underground, which is a “yes” position in the referendum to be held on August 20.
The campaign for Yasuní is already active, although it has not yet officially started
“We will have to think about how to replace these revenues, because they are necessary for the fight against child malnutrition, and for the health, education, and security budget. I believe that this must be discussed in Ecuadorian society: either reduce costs, which is very difficult, or eliminate some subsidies that come as compensation for the income that was lost due to the Yasuní consultation.
The Minister of Energy and Mining warns that voting against the exploitation of oil and minerals would be “suicide” for Ecuador
The president commented that it’s not about the country having $1.2 billion less in revenue and that nothing is happening. Something will happen, either expenditures are reduced in sensitive and important areas of the social sphere or some subsidies are reduced, Lasso repeated this Tuesday, July 4, at the end of the presentation of the new regulation of the law on forgiveness of overdue student loan debts.
Lasso said that he does not want to exaggerate the result of the consultation, but that we must think about the future.
Source: Eluniverso
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