No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeNewsletterLawmakers hand Solís administration a big win by rejecting 2015 budget cuts...

Lawmakers hand Solís administration a big win by rejecting 2015 budget cuts

Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solís has won perhaps one of his biggest challenges to date, as lawmakers on Thursday struck down three separate proposals to slash the administration’s ₡7.9 trillion ($14.5 billion) budget proposal for 2015.

On Thursday evening, legislators engaged in a heated debate before voting against all three of the budget-reduction proposals. The most prominent of those, drafted by the Assembly’s Financial Affairs Commission, sought to reduce the Solís administration’s proposal by ₡97 billion ($178 million). It also would have allowed the government to defer for up to five years debt payments of ₡100 billion ($184 million).

Several lawmakers were absent during the voting. The first proposal received only 23 votes in favor – six shy of the 29 required for its approval. Among the “yes” votes were legislators from the National Liberation Party (PLN), the ruling Citizen Action Party’s Ottón Solís and Epsy Cambell, and the Christian Democratic Alliance’s Mario Redondo. A total of 25 lawmakers voted “no.”

A second proposal to cut ₡40 billion ($73 million), submitted by two Broad Front Party lawmakers, also was rejected, along with a ₡60 billion ($100 million) reduction proposal by Redondo.

At approximately 7 p.m., Assembly President Henry Mora closed the legislative session and announced that discussions would resume on Monday, with the original budget proposal submitted by the executive branch last September left intact. Costa Rica’s Constitution requires lawmakers to approve a national budget by Nov. 30 of each year.

The Broad Front Party’s top lawmaker, Gerardo Vargas, said he was pleased with the voting because “public agencies and popular sectors of the country will not be affected.”

President Solís’ 2015 budget proposal would spend 19 percent more than this year’s budget, which totaled ₡6.6 trillion ($13 billion).

Financial Affairs Commission Chairman Ottón Solís – a member of President Solís’ own party – reacted by saying he is deeply concerned about last night’s voting, because “the [original] budget proposal will further damage public finances.”

The PLN’s Karla Prendas also lamented the commission’s work to reduce government spending during the past two months. The proposed cuts would have included public employee salaries, overtime, vacation pay, office rentals and external consulting, among others.

“If they don’t want to cut spending, then they should forget about asking Costa Ricans to pay more taxes,” Redondo snapped after voting ended. “This government doesn’t want to cut spending, yet now they’ll be asking people to make sacrifices.”

Trending Now

Canadian Tourist Killed in Costa Rica During A Robbery Attempt

A 40-year-old Canadian man lost his life in a violent robbery at a rental home in the Los Jobos area of Tamarindo, Guanacaste, on...

Strong Earthquake Shakes Panama’s Pacific Coast, No Damage Reported

A strong earthquake struck off Panama's Pacific coast today, rattling the region but causing no reported injuries or destruction. Seismologists pegged the magnitude at...

Panama’s Colonial Trade Route Named UNESCO World Heritage Site

The colonial route of Panama, used for centuries to transport the riches of the Americas on mules and boats and considered a forerunner of...

Caral Citadel in Peru Opens After 3,800 Years

A 3,800-year-old citadel belonging to the Caral civilization—one of the oldest in the world—opened its doors to the public this Saturday after eight years...

Honduras Mayor Murdered in Motel Ambush Stirs Outrage

Francisco Martínez Domínguez, the mayor of San Isidro, a small municipality in Honduras, was brutally killed in Siguatepeque, about 90 km north of Tegucigalpa....

EU and Central America Launch First Meeting to Expand Trade Relations

The European Union and Central American nations came together for their first Association Council meeting in Brussels. They focused on growing trade and investment...
L. Arias
L. Arias
Reporter | The Tico Times |
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica