Elena Viyella de Paliza, president of the National Council of Business (CONEP), again urged the government to honor its commitments made last December under the Pact for Stability and Economic Development, which set out to lower the public payroll and reduce public spending to 1.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. As reported in the Listin Diario, the president of CONEP said that the latest measures taken by the government should lower or stabilize the exchange rate and that the business sector will support all government actions that would achieve this effect. It would also support measures to regulate interest rates, so that the private sector can fulfill its commitments of development and job creation. Viyella insisted that the government needs to demonstrate increased willingness to make the adjustments needed to reduce internal disequilibrium. Similarly, she entreated the government to leave the implementation of all surcharges or taxes up to Congress.