These provisions are included in a legal framework that for 11 months have avoided a direct hit to the pocket, and which included the temporary suspension of the Contribución Especial para la Estabilización de Tarifas del Servicio de Transporte Público (COTRANS) for US$0.10, the temporary suspension of the charge to the special account of Estabilización y Fomento Económico (FEFE), equivalent to US$0. 16, and the Special Transitory Law to sanction infractions in the commercialization of petroleum products; and remains in force through the Special Transitory Law to combat inflation in the prices of basic products and the amendments to the Law of Transportation, Transit and Road Safety.

"The actions included in these regulations have allowed that, to date, El Salvador continues to be the country with the lowest inflation rate in Central America (with 7.03%)", said the head of the Defensoría del Consumidor, Ricardo Salazar.

"We are the country in Central America with the lowest inflation rate compared to Costa Rica, with 18.45%; Honduras 16.16%; Nicaragua 15.74% and Guatemala 13.32%", detailed the official. "This is thanks to the 11 economic relief measures announced by the President", he said.

The provisions have had effects on the value of fuels; they also imply the deployment of inspectors in vessels and gas stations; maintenance of the subsidy to propane gas; inspections to guarantee the established price in public transportation units; the suspension of import tariffs to 20 basic products and the streamlining of the authorization to suppliers for the importation of food products.

In compliance with the law, the Defensoría del Consumidor monitors and supervises suppliers. According to Ricardo Salazar, only in 2022 more than 144,000 verifications were made and this year there are already more than 4,500, and these cover the different agents of the supply chain in an articulated task with other government institutions that allow reaching the market of hydrocarbons and petroleum products such as propane gas, ensuring respect for consumers.

Translated by: A.M