Deputies to the Congress of the Republic from the VOS bench, requested the authorities of the Ministry of Economy (Mineco) and the National Institute of Statistics (INE) to reverse course and no longer use the new methodology to calculate the basket basic that has been in force since January of this year.
In addition, given the constant increase in prices of various products, they also recommended that Mineco open quotas for the importation of goods that may be in short supply in the country, as well as the release of tariffs and the implementation of subsidies.
All of the above, as measures that have a downward impact on the costs of the basic food basket and the expanded basic basket not only in terms of basic grains, but also in others such as chicken, meat, edible oil, sugar and medicine. Likewise, that fuel prices be better controlled.
Regarding the baskets, the VOS parliamentarians questioned the estimation methodology, the types of products chosen, the caloric value of each one, the effect on the expanded basic basket, and that they have been divided into urban and rural areas.
The new methodology was announced at the end of 2023 by the authorities at that time and the first CPI and basic basket report, as well as the expanded basket, corresponding to January 2024 was released on February 15 of this year.
The legislators criticized that, in their opinion, not only nutritious foods are included but even foods that are harmful to health (such as instant soups and fried foods, among others).
The number of products on which the calculation is made for the CBA rose from 44 last year to 66 in the CBAU (basic urban food basket) and 60 in the CBAR (basic rural food basket); The suggested grams are quantified for a household of 4.16 members that cover the energy requirement of 2,052 calories for the CBAU and 4.80 members and 2,172 calories for the CBAR, adds the INE in one of the documents published on its website.
“In its formulation, the CBA follows the spending methodology observed by effective consumption patterns, that is, it is not a basket for regulatory purposes, as would occur if it were for dietary purposes,” it is added.
The INE, for its part, through the acting manager, Marco Antonio Mejía, and other officials who attended the meeting, explained that the basic basket is not the food recommendation that that institute is giving, but rather the consumption patterns of the people.
He explained regarding the methodological guidelines, that these refer to the nutritional quality of the basic food basket, because although the primary purpose is not to offer dietary guidelines, it must be ensured that it meets certain standards. However, the officials admitted that they never had the expert opinion of the Nutrition Institute of Central America and Panama (Incap) in this regard.
Representatives Orlando Blanco and José Chic pointed out that one thing is reference data, but another very different thing is that these are included as official statistics that are taken as a basis for official decisions related to the minimum wage, food intake in health establishments. state health and the acquisition of food for donation for emergencies or support for vulnerable households.
“The problem is that now, hospitals are serving instant soup to patients instead of nutritious food; and according to health officials, they include them because the INE has them on their list of foods,” Chic criticized.
Costs
The parliamentarians also pointed out that with the current methodology, the amount of money that a person supposedly needs to have their basic food for a month is calculated, and as a result, the amount that a family needs to cover their basic basket decreases.
One of the problems, according to Blanco, is that these figures have an effect on the minimum wage and salaries in general, because based on this, one can question why the minimum wage is going to be raised if a person eats one meal a month. with Q842.33 in the urban area and with Q650.90 in the rural area? “Likewise, employers can indicate that it is not necessary to increase salaries because the expanded basket in the urban area costs Q2 thousand 38.44 per month according to the data as of March 2024, and for the rural area, Q1 thousand 282.27 per person.
This question reaches the average number of members of a family, since since 2016 the number of members of a family was lowered to 4.77 (previously it was 5.38 members). With the new methodology implemented this year, according to the INE, a family of 4.16 people was established for the urban area and 4.8 in the rural area.
Then, the individual cost multiplied by the number of members of a family results in a basic basket requiring Q3,504.98 per month for a family in the urban area and Q3,124.32 for one in the rural area.
Meanwhile, the expanded one for the urban area will require Q8,479.91 per month; and for the rural area, Q6 thousand 154.89. With the previous methodology, applied for the last time in the month of December 2023, the monthly cost of acquiring the CBA for a family was an average of Q3,904.98, and the expanded basket at Q9,016.35.
Blanco and the deputy to the Central American Parliament (Parlacén) Carlos Barreda, mentioned as an example that when applying the new methodology, in the period from December 2023 to March 2024 the expanded basic basket for the rural area fell almost Q3 thousand.
More reviews
Another of the characteristics questioned in Congress was the quintile that was used to choose the reference population to estimate the basic basket. According to Ine officials, the quintile from 54 to 74 was analyzed, and in deciles, from 5 to 7.
For example, according to another INE document on the subject, the products consumed by households in the 56th quintile are known as the long basket and to form the short basket all those products that are consumed by at least 10% of the households are chosen. homes.
For this, the four-dimensional deficiency method criteriawhich includes housing, basic services, education, and food.
In it food criteria It is considered deprived if a household allocates more than 75% of its budget to purchasing food.
In education, in cases where at least one member of the household whose age falls within the mandatory study ranges of 7 to 15 years of age, did not enroll in the current school year.
For the one of basic services The lack of sanitation was used as a criterion, considering households that lack drainage service and do not have sanitary service, or that use latrines or blind wells.
Y in housingthe maximum lack of materials was used in at least one of three conditions: floor, ceiling or wall.
Deputy Chic criticized that these quintiles are very low and that they only consider people with lower salaries or incomes, so the price of the baskets is reduced compared to other sectors that can be fed better. An example of this is that they may be very basic service workers, who are fed with soda water and instant soup or a bag of fried foods.
No answers
Finally, the INE authorities were asked who authorized the application of the new methodology, since in another summons during January 2024, the manager at that time, Brenda Miranda, responded that it was still being tested and would need adjustments.
The new authorities stated that this methodology is based on data from the National Household Income and Expenditure Survey (Enigh), but they might not answer who authorized its implementation. Initially they said that it was authorized by the previous manager (who was removed from the position on March 25) and following several minutes, they indicated that it was approved in November 2022 through minutes of the Board of Directors.
To this, Deputy Blanco questioned whether the methodology had been approved even without having the results of that survey and requested that in a month, he be informed how this authorization and other data was made, warning that complaints might be filed once morest the previous officials. .
Mineco speaks
When the Vice Minister of Investment and Competition of the Ministry of Economy, Antonio Romero, was consulted regarding the requests to stop using the new methodology for calculating the basic food basket, the official indicated that there has been concern regarding the methodological change that was made and the change is not new.
He said that “it doesn’t hurt to sit down with the INE and have a deep discussion, understand those objections well and understand if there are any problems that need to be addressed.”
Regarding the possibility that it might be suspended for a few months and use the previous model, the official said that at the moment he might not give an opinion on that issue, which would have to be discussed with the Minister of Economy, Gabriela García, and that meetings can be held. very short-term techniques for making decisions.
And, regarding the quotas mentioned by the parliamentarians, he indicated that this May 1 those referring to beans and white corn came into effect. As for others mentioned by the congressmen, Romero explained that they are economic policy instruments that are at the disposal of the government but each one must be analyzed and considered to see if it is appropriate.
Regarding tariff liberalization, also mentioned by the deputies, he said that it is important to listen to the suggestions made regarding economic policy and analyze it clearly.
Several Mineco vice ministers attended the summons in Congress, while Minister Gabriela García excused herself due to other commitments as indicated in the meeting.
Insufficient salaries
The INE has also divided minimum wages by region as well as their amounts, which in some cases do not cover the basic food basket and in no case do they not cover the expanded basket:
Economic Constituency 1 (CE1) which corresponds to the department of Guatemala:
- Agricultural activity: Q3,266.86 monthly, plus incentive bonus of Q250.
- Non-agricultural activity: Q3 thousand 384.59, plus bonus.
- Export and maquila activity: Q3 thousand 93.01, plus bonus.
The economic district 2 (CE2) It is made up of the rest of the departments, and their amounts are lower than those of the department of Guatemala:
- Agricultural activity: Q3 thousand 124.42 per month plus bonus
- Non-agricultural activity: Q3 thousand 227.82, plus bonus
- Export and maquila activity: Q2 thousand 921.90, plus bonus
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