*El Salvador’s unicameral 60-member legislature has approved the government’s proposed budget for 2025 for US$9.66bn with 57 votes in favour. In line with the government’s proposal unveiled at the end of September, it assigns US$1.54bn for education; US$1.17bn for health; and US$903.4m for security and defence. A statement by the legislature, in which President Nayib Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas (NI) has 54 seats, highlights that for the first time the budget would be self-financing without the need to issue extra debt. It notes that since Bukele first assumed power in 2019, the budget deficit has dropped – from US$1.2bn in 2019 to US$472m in 2023 and is set to fall further, to US$338m in 2024. It highlights government figures which say that in 2025 the deficit will be zero.
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LatinNews Daily - 18 December 2024
In brief: El Salvador’s legislature approves 2025 budget
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