The president of COMURES declined to comment on the reduction of the Fodes, but other mayors regret that their own income is too low to continue running social programs.
Given President Nayib Bukele’s announcement to cut the Municipal Economic and Social Development Fund (Fodes), mayors are concerned, especially those running small municipalities who do not have enough of their own income to invest in social programs for their communities.
One of them is the Mayor of Mejicanos, Simón Paz, of the FMLN, who explained to the Channel 19 news outlet that the pandemic forced many small businesses to close because they could not survive the onslaught of the socio-economic impact. by COVID -19.
SEE: Reduction in Fodes is a fiscal adjustment of the government at the expense of working for municipalities, says analyst
The reduction of the Fodes means that they can no longer continue to invest in social programs, especially when they will receive a significant reduction in municipal tariffs as a result of the closure of companies.
“It will certainly be a setback. The Fodes are not only infrastructure works, but the Fodes law allows municipalities to invest in social programs, but this also collapses our economic situation, ”said Paz.
As he said, in the municipality that rules, namely Mejicanos, they have shut down small businesses that have also put dozens of people out of work as a result of the pandemic and that his municipality continues to subsist from the rates paid by the taxpayers as it not an industrialized city.
“There are few companies, which means that the income from own resources is limited. The Fodes, we are clear about its usefulness, the law dictates how to use it and we use it according to the law, ”explains Paz.
The Mayor of Ayutuxtepeque, Alejandro Nóchez, the only municipality in San Salvador to win ARENA, urged Bukele to continue the decentralization of the mayors and to effectively implement the new mechanism of transfer of the Fodes to the mayors. to make. until 2022.
“I argue that this is not from this year, but from 2022, although it is true that we have been working with an approved budget since last year and we are already working on it. The reform could be approved this year, but applicable until 2022, I always advocate decentralization that should be continued and strengthened, ”said Nóchez.
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The economic analyst, Rafael Lemus, explained that the government has overlooked another important point, as by leaving the management of 25% of the Fodes to the mayors alone, it does not allow them to fulfill their obligations. to pay credits acquired with the municipal fund as a guarantee, one of which is the Municipal Debt Restructuring Trust (Fidemuni).