February in red: the primary fiscal deficit quadrupled and the State spent twice as much on subsidies compared to last year

The national government quadrupled its primary deficit figure in February compared to the same month last year: red in public accounts rose from $18.7 billion a year ago to $76.2 billion today, implying an imbalance growth of 306 percent, according to the Ministry of Economics.

Part of that increase in primary red was explained by the expansion of public spending on energy subsidies. The budget for that item advanced almost 95% from $39.151 million in February 2021 to $76,105 million last February.

Fiscal targets and subsidy reduction target are two issues that make up the economic program agreed with the IMF. The Government may have a primary deficit of 2.5% of GDP as a ceiling by 2022, and committed to cutting energy subsidies equivalent to 0.6% of Product.

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