The banking debt of the state of Veracruz has been reduced to 43 billion pesos, after nearly 5 billion pesos have been paid during the current administration, Governor Rocío Nahle García reported.
In providing an overview of the state’s finances, the governor said the debt reduction is part of a comprehensive strategy that also includes settling outstanding debts with the SAT and ISSSTE, as well as paying the securitized debt of 199 municipalities.
Nahle García contrasted her financial strategy with that implemented during the administration of Cuitláhuac García Jiménez, noting that the previous government focused primarily on reducing bank liabilities.
“When Cuitláhuac [García] arrived, he took over the state with a debt of 62 billion pesos and left it at approximately 50 billion. In other words, he reduced the banking debt. He focused only on the banking debt, very well,” she stated.
The governor emphasized that her administration assumed other financial obligations and managed to fully settle the debt Veracruz owed to the Tax Administration Service (SAT), after the state had been, she said, the entity with the largest outstanding debt to the agency.
“From the moment we arrived, we had to assume everything we owed, and last year we set out to completely get out of debt with the SAT. We were the state that owed the SAT the most; today we owe it nothing,” she stated.
Regarding ISSSTE, she indicated that more than 50 percent of the institutional debt has been paid, while work continues on the individual accounts of workers.
As for the banking debt, she reiterated that it currently stands at 43 billion pesos, representing nearly 5 billion pesos in payments during her administration.
She also noted that the state government assumed and paid the debt related to the securitization of vehicle ownership taxes involving 199 municipalities.
Debt is divided to reduce interest
The head of the state executive branch explained that her administration has resorted to refinancing and dividing liabilities into smaller portions to avoid pressure from interest payments.
“Instead of having one large document for 10 billion pesos, we say: ‘Let’s see, divide it into five of 2 billion and we’ll pay you 2 billion at a time,’ so we don’t have to wait until we have the 10 billion while interest payments are suffocating us,” she explained.
As a result of these measures, she said that the Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) recognized the financial management model implemented in Veracruz.
She also reported that the head of the Secretariat of Finance and Planning (Sefiplan), Miguel Reyes, was invited to coordinate the area responsible for managing state debt within the national organization that brings together the country’s finance secretaries.
The official will share with other states the methodology implemented by Veracruz for managing and restructuring its financial obligation
Source: xeu
