September 23rd, 1950

With the government stabilizing, and a $150,000,000 loan from the USA secured, the Franco Administration has decided to roll out the initial outline of a national

The Program contains several key budgetary points:

• The near-abolition of export duties to ensure competitive viability of Paraguayan exports - the majority of which are agricultural.
• The lowering of import tariffs to help encourage import and exchange of foreign goods in order to facilitate domestic growth through lowering the cost of entry for manufacturing and construction, and so on.
• The combating of the spiraling inflation of the Guarani, the Central Bank will reduce currency printing and restrict credit until inflation reaches acceptable levels.
• An 8% tax cut is being instituted for foreign investors over the period of the next 10 years with the aim of facilitating investment.
• The national budget is to be readjusted to account for the newly acquired loan debt and a program of "soft austerity" (a term issued directly from the Office of the President) will be instituted to ensure timely debt repayment while also balanced with the maintenance of essential government and military functions.

Further, the government will initiate a series of large-scale economic programs:

• The organization of the Secretaria Technica de Planificacion (Technical Planning Secretariat) as a sub-department of the Ministry of Finance to act as a central board for future economic projects and infrastructure plans.
• The STP's first task is to investigate and outline a project to help Paraguay expand highway infrastructure across the country's more populous and developed eastern portion with the aim of improving economic exchange with Brazil in part to bypass Argentina's firm, heavily tariffed control of the Rio de la Plata. The STP's initial budget is $40,000,000, pending expansion if the Secretariat showcases results within or beyond initial projections.
• The STP will be dividing its infrastructural budget as such: $20,000,000 to expand and improve existing highways between Asuncion and various cities throughout eastern Paraguay (Concepcion, San Pedro de Ycuamandiyú, Salto de Guaira, and Encarnacion being the initial connections) and an additional $15,000,000 to fund the improvement of road connections between Asuncion and Villa Hayes, Filadelfia, and Furte Olimpo in the west of the country.
• The remaining $5,000,000 will be held to be distributed as something of a "rainy day fund" to provide a small cushion.
• $15,000,000 will be allotted to upgrade and maintain existing ports in eastern Paraguay - many of which form the backbone of the nation's trade networks.
• $50,000,000 will be allotted to assist the STP in the location and opening development of new hydroelectric dams in eastern Paraguay as hydroelectric energy has been, and will remain, the nation's primary form of electrical power. The STP will form a subcommittee aimed towards this development and will contact the Brazilian government to offer cooperation in the construction of said dam.
• $25,000,000 is the be directly invested into programs to assist improving, refitting, and expanding the nation's agricultural sector to help Paraguay's farmers recover to and ideally exceed pre-1940 production levels.
• $25,000,000 is to be placed into a large-scale educational-entrepreneurial grant program with the aim of assisting Paraguayan citizens in pursuing and obtaining technical skills aimed towards the growth and expansion of Paraguayan business and prosperity. The grant will focus on lower-income households with less opportunity for educational mobility.

These programs will begin the moment US loan money officially reaches the Paraguayan national treasury and will be overseen by a handpicked committee of 6 Congressmen and 10 technical experts to ensure the proper usage of funds and report directly to President Franco, who will then commission the Finance Ministry to draft a spending outline to be sent the US State Department at regular intervals.

Paz y Progreso