MEXICO CITY – Mexico still has the vote of confidence of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) although it has a greater margin of debt to other countries in Latin America, and is reducing the deficit for this year, compared to 2015, and will continue to do so for 2017, which is already provided for in the economic policy criteria sent to the Chamber of Deputies, said Treasury and Public Finance Secretary Luis Videgaray Caso.
Responding to the latest report from the IMF, that maintains that Mexico no longer has a margin for fiscal maneuvering as its debt is larger than many of the region’s other emerging economies, calling for further reduction of the deficit. As manager of national public finance, Videgaray Caso said the IMF “has repeatedly given a vote of confidence” to Mexico’s fiscal policy.
“The comments regarding deficit reduction are precisely an endorsement that we have announced and to which we have committed,” he said.
According to the IMF, Mexico holds a public debt of 54.9 percent as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP), while gross debt includes tax payments of other nations, like Brazil is 76.3 percent, Colombia 49.2 percent, Chile 19.8 percent, Venezuela 36 percent, and Puerto Rican debt has risen to 56 percent share of GDP.
Videgaray Caso reiterated that the IMF’s recommendations are already taken into account to reduce the deficit and lower debt level.
To maintain the credibility of the Mexican public finances, stated the IMF, it is essential to reach the established fiscal goals, especially reduction of public debt, and it’s expected that the growth of the national economy will accelerate in the coming years to reach 3.1 percent by 2021.
