The president of the Senate, Ricardo de los Santos, defended this Thursday the loans which the National Congress has approved alleging that all debts have been used for investment projects.
Upon leaving a meeting of talks in conjunction with the Constitutional Court, the senator explained that the majority of the loans are included in the state budgets of each year, so it is the responsibility of Congress to study and approve them.
“It has been a norm already established with the diligence of this government that all loans taken have a clear investment criterion,” said De los Santos.
Likewise, he maintained that, although “a high amount of loans” has been seen, the contracts have contributed to reducing the level of State indebtedness in relation to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
In that order, he pointed out that, when the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) assumed public power, it found the debt in relation to GDP at 61% and after three years of government it is registered at 59%.
Antonio Taveras
The senator representing Santo Domingo, Antonio Taveras, also justified the loans by saying that they are included in the 2023 State Budget and its addendum, so the duty of the senators is to study and endorse them.
He also condemned the opposition for rejecting and questioning the loans and said that the opposition parties “do not have any strength” to reject the debts.
“We are in a current situation caused by the pandemic and now we are recovering,” Taveras said, saying that, with the coronavirus, all of Latin America had to resort to debt.
In this Wednesday’s session, the Chamber of Deputies debated and approved six new loans totaling more than US$1.2 billion and aimed at the construction and completion of state works.
Five of the loans must go to the Senate to be studied and approved there, while one, aimed at expanding the Santo Domingo Metro, will go to the Executive Branch for execution.
2023-11-23 23:57:47
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