President Carlos Alvarado announced, There will be no increases in the Value Added Tax, wages below 800 thousand colones will not be affected, there will be no massive layoffs of public sector workers, or sale of State assets beyond those already announced, or effects on free zones.
All of these points will be part of the proposal that the national government will take to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), announced President Carlos Alvarado during his speech this Monday night at the expanded Governing Council in Cartago, within the framework of the celebration of our Independence.
His words were given before the lighting of the Independence Torch, which arrived in Cartago after 8:30 p.m.
The proposal that the president will present to the faction political parties and the country, in general, includes four objectives:
1. Maintain economic stability and confidence in the country.
2. Keep the vital institutions of our the Social State of Law in force.
3. Make the State more efficient so that it better serves the people.
4. Protect the poor and vulnerable, as well as the middle class, at all costs.
“If we do not act, the risk is devaluation, high-interest rates, more unemployment, and poverty, which would affect everyone and with particular severity the poorest,” said Alvarado.
“The reality today is very harsh, difficult, and painful for thousands of families due to the Pandemic and the unemployment it has generated. But, in honor of the challenges our ancestors faced and overcame, we will not lose our nerve, strength, courage, and conviction to face the calamity that COVID-19 brought,” added the President. Alvarado pointed out that when the Bicentennial is celebrated, next year, the country will show advances in infrastructure, health, safety, and education.
The country would begin negotiations with the IMF in early October to seek additional financing of $ 1.75 billion in a three-year agreement, known as an Expanded Service or EFF, for its acronym in English.
A fight like the one in 1856
The presidential message this Monday was marked by historical references to explain the effects of the pandemic situation and its effects on health and the economy.
Alvarado recalled other health emergencies such as those faced due to cholera, yellow fever, Spanish flu or polio and emphasize the National Campaign of 1856.
Alluding to the fact that at that time there were multiple challenges – armed struggle and plague – the President generated a comparison with the contemporary crisis where he cited the Coronavirus but also the associated economic destruction both in the public and private sectors.
Unlike the feat of a century and a half ago, Alvarado insisted that now it is a different struggle where it is an individual action that counts. “It is not to take up arms what is asked of us, it is to cover our mouths, it is to wash our hands and keep our distance,” he concluded.
