The Minister of Economy and Finance, Alex Contreras, will have the reactivation of MSEs as his workhorse for this first part of 2024 and offers: flexibility of credits with a state guarantee, a less harmful tax regime and greater public purchases in an offer. However, this package does not convince local microentrepreneurs.
In a joint meeting held last Wednesday with the Ministry of Production (Produce) and union representatives, the MEF announced a strategy of five main axes that will have, as a corollary, a financial rescue of the mypes for about S/100 million, which will be confirmed shortly before the end of the month.
Firstly, Minister Contreras has offered to meet with the leaders every 15 days to evaluate the progress of the placement of credits and public purchases. He explained that of the S / 15,000 million allocated as a state guarantee to finance mypes through Impulso MyPerú – a program that will now also finance medium and large companies -, only a little more than S / 5,000 million has been advanced.
“We have an agenda and we are going to put more speed on it; but the idea is that we all work together. It is not usual for a MEF minister to meet with mypes, but in crisis contexts, it is the way,” he highlighted.
For this reason, the second strategy is to relax the requirements to access the auction of the other S/10,000 million, which should be launched before Thursday of next week.
Credits for risks
The most notable thing is that the Executive proposes providing coverage to mypes that are outside the financial system, but did not finish explaining how it will ensure that its rates average the 13% achieved in the previous auction. In addition, around 60% is in Infocorp, as clarified by the National Union of Mypes Guilds, which also demanded “forgiveness of tax debts in the sector.”
Not only that, because now the MEF proposes in this new modality of delivery of state guarantees that companies in the financial system that join the program no longer only grant credits to their clients, but also to those of other companies, such as banks or savings banks. At this point, Contreras Miranda ruled out that the inclusion of medium and large companies in Impulso MyPerú represents a risk for their smaller-scale peers, since they are managed with separate accounts and auctions.
As a sign of transparency, a list will also be published with all the companies, be they mypes or any scale, that have benefited from the first S/5,000 million in placements of the guarantee program.
Dissatisfied Mypes
At the same time that Minister Contreras reported on the emergency decree for the purchase of one million school kits in the current school campaign – although it is still not clear if this will be ready for February or March – another group of mypes met in Gamarra and requested his departure.
Position. Mypes leaders lost confidence in the MEF. Photo: diffusion
According to representative unions of Gamarra, San Juan de Lurigancho, Callao, Lima Norte, Ate, Huaycán, Villa El Salvador, Arequipa, Trujillo, Puno, Lambayeque, Huancayo, among others, the Impulso MyPerú support program has been “denatured” and left mypes on the sidelines, since financial entities use guarantees to consolidate debts, but not to reactivate their activities through new loans.
“What has been done, contrary to the spirit of the rule, is to allow entities to purchase existing debts, but do not provide new credits. And, to accelerate placements, the MEF has denaturalized the program and has included medium and large companies, that is not what the norm was created for,” they noted.
The unison request is a renewal in the MEF portfolio. To do this, they have prepared a list with the 11 promises that they claim were unfulfilled by the administration of President Dina Boluarte and that, in the end, have meant the debacle of the MSEs in the midst of the recession.
Among these unfulfilled promises, the 40% state purchases for mypes that Produce offered in May stand out, which to date have not been materialized. Also the S/177 million for the acquisition of uniforms for the National Police of Peru (PNP), which is about to celebrate one year since it was announced.
“We are in the second week of January, and there is no demand or transferred resources,” they said.
Purchases of a million school kits
As part of the United Plan, Contreras confirmed that in “maximum 10 days” he will also have ready the emergency decree that approves the purchase of one million school kits. But he is already late in this regard: last December he had offered to have the decree approved the first week of January.
It should be noted that a purchase of this magnitude requires a technical file from Foncodes, with its respective call for budget, manufacturing and suppliers, so there is no guarantee, as indicated by the mypes, that they will be ready in the current campaign.
Mypes also ask to implement trade defense measures against informal trade, dumping, undervaluation and smuggling.
Figures
- 96.4% of companies in Peru are mypes, according to the National Household Survey (Enaho).
- 21% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) corresponds to the income generated by mypes in Peru.
Source: Larepublica
Alia is a professional author and journalist, working at 247 news agency. She writes on various topics from economy news to general interest pieces, providing readers with relevant and informative content. With years of experience, she brings a unique perspective and in-depth analysis to her work.
