Senate president Reinaldo Pared Perez convened an extraordinary session of the upper chamber for 4pm this afternoon, Monday 17 December, in order to debate the 2013 General State Budget and pass it as urgent. A report by a joint commission that studied the proposal, chaired by Senator Dionis Sanchez and Deputy Victor Sanchez, is now ready. It is said to be favorable and will be presented to the full Senate without modifications.
As soon as the Budget is passed, it will be sent to the Chamber of Deputies for a vote tomorrow, after one reading and on Thursday 20 December after a second reading. However, if the main opposition party, the PRD, decides to support the proposal, then it could be passed as urgent with the two-thirds majority that is required in these cases. The PRD has not said whether it will support the budget. At the beginning of last week, Budget Director Luis Reyes warned the joint commission that there was no possibility of modifying the Budget, since “it has been adjusted to the fiscal reality that exists in the country.”