Nelson Suárez critiques stagnation in state budgets from 2018 to 2024

Santo Domingo.- Dominican economist Nelson Suárez recently critiqued the lack of significant changes in the Dominican Republic’s State Budget, drawing parallels between the 2018 budget and the current one for 2020-2024. Speaking on the program Uno Más Uno on Teleantillas, channel 2, Suárez referenced a critical article by the current Minister of Economy, Planning and Development, Pavel Isa, about the 2018 budget. Isa had labeled it as being on “autopilot” due to its repetitive nature.

Suárez echoed these sentiments, observing that the current budget largely mirrors its predecessors. He noted that a significant portion of the budget is allocated to payroll and remuneration expenses, and debt service is increasingly burdensome. Specifically, he pointed out that interest payments for the next year amount to RD$294,000 million, with debt amortization close to RD$105,000 million, which is about 26% of the budget or roughly 5.5% of GDP (π).

Furthermore, Suárez mentioned that since 2008, the Dominican Republic has been grappling with what economists term a “structural deficit,” hovering around 3%. This deficit, he argues, reflects a persistent issue that has not been adequately addressed. He concluded by emphasizing the necessity for any future government to implement adjustments to create more fiscal space, underscoring the urgency of reforming the budgetary process to address these long-standing issues.