The official said mayors must wait until it has “approval in the Assembly”
The Minister of Finance, Alejandro Zelaya, has stated this morning that they cannot “force” to pay the Fodes that he owes to the mayors for more than nine months. “The resolution is clear and says the minister must make arrangements within his powers to make payment arrangements because they know they cannot force me to pay it directly,” Zelaya said in reference to the resolution of the Constitutional Chamber.
However, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court did order the Minister of Finance on February 4 to carry out “immediately” the administrative and financial arrangements to pay the funds.
The highest court orders him to make a schedule of transfers so that the delay in payment is not “repeated” which is mandatory compliance because it is law of the Republic.
SEE ALSO: The 7-month non-payment of Fodes affects the population, not the mayors
Treasury has stopped transferring the money to the 262 mayors since June 2020. Until January of this year the debt amounted to $ 360 million, as reported last month by the president of the Salvadoran Institute of Municipal Development (ISDEM ), the mayor of San Salvador, Ernesto Muyshondt.
“Mayors must wait for the Fodes until we have approval in the Assembly; I cannot pay them and run the risk of not paying the external debt,” the minister said during the Channel 12 interview.
The new Legislative Assembly will begin its term on May 1, in which the pro-government New Ideas party will have the majority of seats and will be in favor of the government of Nayib Bukele.
Zelaya also admitted that they are in arrears with payments to suppliers. “We started to cut expenses at the level of the tax office, there have not only been delays with Fodes but with suppliers; we have had to delay it so as not to fall into default,” he added. And he reiterated that “I am under an obligation to prioritize spending in order to avoid harm to the public treasury and citizens, I cannot stop paying salaries of doctors and nurses to pay mayors.”
He also indicated that in February they had planned to raise $ 987 million, but have raised $ 919 million, so they hope that in March and April they can offset 2% and raise the collection above budget.