Santa Cruz governor enacts 2027 budget, raising spending by 27%

Santa Cruz Governor Juan Pablo Velasco enacted the department’s 2027 institutional budget, setting spending at Bs 1.463 billion, a 27% increase intended to cover debt obligations and hospital operations.

Vice Governor Paola Aguirre said the budget would allow the administration to reopen programs that had been closed, particularly in education, support for older people and protection for vulnerable children. It also increases funding for tertiary hospitals, with the aim of improving infrastructure and equipment.

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There is a reduction in floating debt of approximately 70%.

Aguirre said the administration expects to reduce floating debt by about 70%. She described the debt as an inheritance from previous administrations and said cutting it would improve the department’s financial position. She also acknowledged that the budget remains insufficient for large projects, including new hospitals and roads.

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This POA is not the only framework for what the governorate will do next year.

The governor’s office plans to seek other financing, including international cooperation and private investment through concessions. Aguirre said the metropolitan railway and improvements to the Oncology Hospital would not be financed through the departmental budget, known as the POA.

She also warned that roughly 75% of the governorate’s income depends on international gas prices, leaving its revenue exposed to external factors. Aguirre renewed support for a 50-50 tax-sharing proposal, which she said would improve liquidity. She added that less than Bs 10 of every Bs 100 managed by the governorate goes to administration under the current austerity policy.

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The metropolitan railway does not come from this POA; we are turning to international cooperation and private investors through the concession model.