This month – the first in this government – the debts of the state, which amounted to 2,800 million dollars, were added to new maturities and now amount to 4,000 million dollars, and the minister of economy, Juan Carlos Vega, indicated that the deficit will close the year at 5,789 million dollars and that will try to stabilize the patient these days so he doesn’t die, given the resources they received last November 23rd when there was a change of command.

The minister explained the situation in the country in a conversation held in Quito and promised to do everything to cover the thirteenth salary of public sector workers and the small but sacrificed payments to pay the decentralized autonomous governments (GAD). These sectional governments are expected to pay $20 million a day.

He attributes the complex situation to three factors:

Considering the lack of resources, Vega said that they are analyzing the placement of treasury certificates (Cetes) and that they could count on a contingent of private banks for this.

In addition to issuing internal bonds.

The minister referred to two measures that were announced to ensure that the reserve would not be affected. One is contained in the tax reform promoted by this Government and processed by the National Assembly: the reprofiling of the debt that the Ministry of Economy holds with the Central Bank and which it indicated amounts to 4,000 million dollars.

Vega said it is not something that affects the reserve and explained that the big payments are coming in the next three years and what is now proposed is to reprofile them to 2040. The original emergency bill proposed to do this over 30 years, but it was modified to 20 years in the report for the second hearing. Thus, the payments will start from the first semester, says the minister.

President Nobo talks about cutting $1 billion in 2024 and selling some of the monetary gold in reserves

And about what President Daniel Noboa announced in an interview with Reuters to sell part of the gold reserves, the minister claimed that an analysis was made together with the central bank and that 40% of the reserves are gold, and they proposed selling more or less 10% and that this operation would leave a profit and part of it would go to the Ministry of Finance, “but it does not affect the reserve.”

Regarding the $1,000 million reduction in government spending for 2024, which was also announced by Noboa, the Minister of Economy indicated that they hope it will be a little more and that it will happen on the side of public enterprises.

Along with all the problems, the expectations of economic growth were also reduced again. Now the projection is 1.5% for 2023. Estimates have been lowered twice, first it was calculated that Ecuador would grow over 3%, then it was revised to a growth of 2.6%, and now it is one point less.

These are some of the figures presented by the Ministry of Economy and Finance: