The IMF spokeswoman also acknowledged yesterday that improved security has impacted GDP growth.
The president of the Central Reserve Bank (BCR), Douglas Rodriguez, attributed Thursday to a greater growth of the economy in 2023 to a better security situation in the country.
The official praised the emergency regime that frames the controversial “war” against gangs launched by President Nayib Bukele, with the result of nearly 80,000 detainees.
“The greatest result of this exceptional regime is the economic growth of our country. We can now forget that growth of 2.1 percent,” the annual average since the economy was dollarized in 2001, Rodriguez said.
In 2023, El Salvador achieved a growth of theGross domestic product of 3.5 %.
In El Salvador, “real GDP growth strengthened in 2023 driven by tourism and construction, and this happened thanks to the solidity of remittances and a very improved security situation,” Julie Kozack, IMF communications director, acknowledged Thursday in Washington.
The emergency regime allows for detention without a warrant. With a wide deployment of military and police, Bukele disrupted the structures of the gangs or gangs, which were financed by the collection of extortion, hit and sale of drugs at retail. Those who refused to pay were killed or killed a relative.
“The main brake on growth, for years, was gangs: there was no company, formal or informal trade that was not terrified by gangs, and not only that, but extortionate,” Rodriguez told TV Channel 21.
According to the official, violence generated costs of14 % to 19 % of GDP.
This article has been translated from the original which first appeared in Diario El Mundo