The organization’s chairman, Milagro Navas, said in a press conference that the government is breaking the law by not handing over the $ 288 million that Fodes defaults from 2020.
The president of the Corporation of Municipalities of the Republic of El Salvador (COMURES), Milagro Navas, explained at a press conference this Friday that COMURES ‘board of directors plans to travel to the United States to request support from the U.S. Senate so that the government can adhere to the payment of the Fund for Economic and Social Development (Fodes), which is due to them for 7 months.
December ended and the Ministry of Finance has not transferred the $ 288 million of the Fodes it owes to the mayors since last year, when that obligation was legally required, including the mayor of Santa Tecla, Roberto d’Aubuisson, from ARENA, He pointed out that the government is committing a crime.
The mayors united in Comures said that the Minister of Finance, Alejandro Zelaya, has indicated that he prefers to pay the external debt before the Fodes, that this obligation is not his priority.
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“We prioritize spending, we have said we will not stop paying foreign debts and default on paying the Fodes. We also have suppliers without payment, we have different situations that we have to solve… ”, the finance minister said on Thursday.
“What Zelaya admits is that he is a known convict because he has publicly admitted that the law is worthy of him,” asked d’Aubuisson.
The mayors’ decision to express their annoyance to the United States Senate stems from the fact that several municipalities have had to suspend payment of salaries and suppliers and have not adhered to community work.
Only in the east of the country had eight municipalities closed due to non-payment of the Fodes, the councilors reported.
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“The government cannot enforce the law when it wants to,” said Santa Ana Mayor Milena de Escalón.
According to deputies, the non-payment and the statements of some officials, such as Zelaya, show that there has been a “misappropriation of funds” by the government by failing to comply with the obligation to pay the Fodes to the mayors, as the law requires the state to transfer 10% of tax revenue to municipalities.
In fact, one of two vetoes President Nayib Bukele has imposed this year against the funding sources of the general state budget is a loan allocated by the Assembly to pay the pending Fodes to the places.