Dangerously rebounds the tendency of autonomous governments to keep bills in the drawer and delay payments to thousands of companies in Spain.

The tension of treasury that communities are suffering from the political blockade is triggering late payments at rates close to 10% in recent months, and the Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, warns that payments to suppliers are going to be delayed more as there is not yet a functioning central government that can unlock the funds . The Popular Party, Citizens and We agree to describe as "suffocation" the financial situation of the communities for this refusal of the central government and urged Pedro Sánchez yesterday in Congress to seek a solution. According to the latest official data, the outstanding commercial debt of the regional governments with their suppliers is close to 5,000 million euros after increasing 9.6% over the last month and 17% over the same period last year .

In an official note released this week by the Ministry of Finance, corresponding to last June, it is stated that “the amount of the commercial debt of the Autonomous Communities amounts to 4,898.54 million euros, equivalent to 0.39% of the National GDP ». There are 429.75 million euros more than in May, when it has also grown at rates close to 10%.

The expected payment period in these operations rises to 44.89 days, 13.16% worse than in May and the highest so far this year . In June 2018, the payment period was 38.18 days and the outstanding commercial debt amounted to 4,197 million, 0.35% of GDP. If the so-called Average Payment Period (PMP) is analyzed, which includes paid and pending operations, it is 36.21 days, but there are strong differences between the 13 of Galicia or the more than 50 of Valencia and Murcia. Catalonia also stands out with 46 days. The theoretical legal term established for administrations in the Late Payment Law is a maximum of 30 days.

The Treasury downplays the increase in the PMP in June in the Autonomous Communities for "the need to meet in this month a greater volume of non-commercial payments, with the consequent impact on the PMP and commercial debt." However, the data for June is very similar to the 4,926 million recorded in December 2018, considered as the month of most accumulation of payment commitments and where it is more common to increase commercial debt in a timely manner.

Montero warned yesterday that the legal impossibility of unlocking the deliveries on account to the communities because they are on duty "can increase the period of payment to suppliers" and predicted that next month the problem will explode to the Valencian Government and that of Murcia, for its high deviation from the deficit target this year and for being, in his opinion, the most affected communities in the current financing system.

Montero took advantage of the increase in delinquency to raise the pressure to the rest of the parties to support the investiture. "The simplest solution that deliveries have on account is that you support the investiture of Pedro Sánchez and the rest of the formations refrain," he told the deputy of Podemos, Aina Vidal . To the spokesman of the Treasury of the PP, Mario Garcés, the minister asked for «a patriotic abstention». However, she said that she was still "searching tirelessly" for a legal solution in case there is no investiture to deliver funds before the end of the year, even if she is still in office. According to Garcés, "it is a blackmail" and believes that the funds blocked this year to the communities amount to 9,170 million, between deliveries on account and payments and compensations of "VAT planned and not delivered to the autonomous governments. Barons of the PSOE, like Ximo Puig, also demand a solution to suffocation.

A report from last year from the Bank of Spain highlighted the communities that had managed to lower their commercial debt to 0.3% of GDP. Now, however, it picks up and brushes 0.4% of GDP in a late payment that not only harms thousands of supplier companies, but also offers a bad external image.

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