LatinNews Daily - 27 August 2020

* Uruguay’s President Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou has announced his government’s five-year budget, which will be submitted to congress on 31 August. Lacalle Pou said that the “balanced and realistic” proposed budget would not increase taxes or spending, ensure savings of US$900m, and prioritise education, health, job creation, and access to housing – all in line with his election pledges, which Lacalle Pou said he would respect regardless of the fiscal impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Economy & Finance Minister Azucena Arbeleche did note that the pandemic has forced the government to postpone its efforts to reduce the country’s fiscal deficit, which it expects to reach 6.5% of GDP by the end of the year. The government is projecting a fiscal deficit of 4.1% of GDP in 2021, which it hopes to have reduced to 2.5% of GDP by 2024, the last year of Lacalle Pou’s term. The government is forecasting a GDP contraction of 3.5% in 2020.

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