Economy and Finance Minister Pedro Francke on Thursday affirmed that Peru's public debt (35.3% of GDP) is one of the lowest in Latin America, reiterating that the fiscal deficit will fall to 4.7% of GDP this year.
"In this year's budget, the deficit was set at above 6% of GDP, but it is being revised slightly down (to 4.7%), and this is reflected in a slight increase in public debt. We have to keep it under control, but our public debt is one of the lowest in Latin America," Francke explained.
"According to the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), Peru is among the 10% of emerging countries with the lowest public debt. So we have to maintain this and avoid over-indebtedness," he added.
The high-ranking official explained that the Government's proposal of fiscal sustainability implies an important reduction to assure that public debt does not get out of control.
"The (public) debt will still rise a bit for a few years, but remains well below 40% of GDP and will be the lowest of Latin America in the coming years, probably lower than that of Chile," the minister affirmed.
The Cabinet member said that this is the result of the important recovery in Central Government's revenue, due to better prices of metals and the economic reactivation.
"Additionally, expenditures have moderated despite the demand of the pandemic, and we do not have an excessive or wasteful spending policy," he pointed out.
(END) CNA/JJN/RMB/MVB
Publicado: 2/9/2021