The Diario Libre headlines today speak of the costs of the petroleum invoice and the subsidies vis-a-vis the growing deficit. In May, these two items represented 23.3% of the total regular expenses. Inflation and the devaluation of the peso also continue to complicate things for the government. In May, budget expenditures increased by 35.1% over May of 2003, going from RD$7.52 billion to RD$11.6 billion, although the latter monies were kicked about by the general deterioration of the economy. According to the Diario Libre, the blame lies in the transfers that reached RD$464.4 million. Other factors work against a reduction, such as the restrictions imposed by the IMF Standby Agreement, and the subsidies and the cost of petroleum represent a heavy cost to the government. In May, private institutional money transfers to the National Refinery and to Coastal Petroleum totaled RD$743.5 million, while transfers to the CDEEE totaled RD$1.11 billion. The government fiscal deficit reached RD$1.59 billion. Looking at the figures for 2003 and 2004, it is true that there was a RD$4-billion increase, but, in taking into account the effects of inflation and the cost of the dollar, there was a 15% reduction in expenditures. The truth is simply that more pesos were needed to purchase the same things.