Another cut to the resources of municipalities and provincial governments of the country

The decentralized autonomous governments will receive $ 338.2 million less in the second quarter of 2016, according to the Ministry of Finance agreement of October 10. This would be the second cut in the year.

The situation worries the mayors. They find no explanation for the reduction after the escalation of the price of a barrel of oil, and the official version that denotes a buoyant tax collection and the gradual overcoming of the delicate economic situation.

However, the mayor of Guayaquil, Jaime Nebot, has an explanation: a drop in the tax collection of 1.8 billion dollars until September. “By raising taxes, the government seeks money for Manabí and compensation for its financial ruin. And what are they going to achieve? Less money and impoverish the people by taking away their purchasing power.”

Guayaquil has an impact of $ 23 million less in its budget; the smaller municipalities are the ones that feel an even greater shock. Santa Lucia, in the province of Guayas, is an example. The finances of the county have been limited in an 18%, that is to say, 325 thousand dollars less in the semester (82 thousand monthly).

Mayor Miguel Angel Solorzano translates this decrease in the deprivation of works and quotes two: the asphalting of the main street and the filling of a plot of land. “At this point, we will have to lower operational and investment costs. We will try to reduce the staff. We are in the mid of a re-engineering considering the people who are needed.”