The Minister of Treasury, Rocio Aguilar, explained to the Government Council this Tuesday, the difficult fiscal situation Costa Rica is facing and the actions that will be presented to the Legislative Assembly regarding containment of expenses this Wednesday and Thursday.

At the same time, President Carlos Alvarado, signed along with Aguilar an order to “freeze” the salaries of all government officials.

“The salaries of the president and vice-presidents of the Republic, ministers, vice-ministers, executive presidents, managers and sub-managers of the decentralized sector, will remain fixed, not receiving any raises”, detailed the order.

Aguilar was emphatic about the risks of not taking actions, “not taking measures means accelerating the crisis. We are out of time”, she warned.

The fiscal deficit is the main topic in the agenda of President Alvarado, the fiscal plan is still awaiting approval by the Legislative Assembly.

This is not the first time an order like this is implemented, it has been done twice before during the governments of Laura Chinchilla (2010-2014) and Luis Guillermo Solís (2014-2018).

Salaries in the government range between U.S. $2,400.00 (base salary of a Minister) to $15,400.00 (President of the Supreme Electoral Court) per month.

President Alvarado urged deputies at the Legislative Assembly to listen and consider all the information and proposals that Minister Aguilar will present in congress this week.