By The Star Staff
The Puerto Rico Economists Association analyzed the economic proposals of the four political candidates, giving them on average, a satisfactory grade of C.
“Most of the proposals lack details on obtaining resources to execute the strategies outlined in their respective proposals, aspects that are not favorable for determining their viability and transparency. The evaluation highlighted the need for political parties to develop stronger accountability mechanisms,” the Association said on Wednesday.
Although some parties, such as the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), showed progress in monitoring their proposals, there is still a general need to strengthen monitoring plans and outcome evaluation metrics.
The lack of transparency and clarity in measuring socioeconomic impact
continues to be a common weakness in all the platforms evaluated, limiting the ability of citizens to monitor the fulfillment of campaign promises effectively, the group said.
According to the findings, the best ratings were obtained by the candidate of the Alliance between the PIP and the Citizen Victory Movement (MVC), headed by Juan Dalmau, followed by the candidate for the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), Jesús Manuel Ortiz.
“The PIP and PPD proposals are possibly the most specific and complete economic proposals, focused on sustainable development, debt, and support for the local economy and emerging sectors. A focus on the solidarity economy and cooperativism is observed,” the organization said.
The evaluation consisted of three criteria: focus and transparency, structure and viability, and accountability. Each criterion was evaluated in three questions on a point scale from 1.0 to 5.0, with five being the highest score and one being the lowest.
The analysis focused on the ideas’ clarity and not on their impact on the island’s economic activity.
In the first criterion of “focus and transparency,” Dalmau’s economic proposals achieved the highest rating of the evaluations with a “B,” equivalent to an average score of 4.0.
The first criterion evaluated whether the economic goals are clear and long-term, with well-defined objectives and strategies.
Ortiz’s proposal received The second highest rating, with a grade of “C” with 2.8 points.
Ortiz’sproposal was followed by that of the New Progressive Party (PNP) candidate, Jenniffer González, with a score of 2.3 points or D.
Meanwhile, the lowest rating in the focus and criteria criterion was obtained by the candidate for governor of Proyecto Dignidad (PD), Javier Jiménez, also with a grade of D with 1.5 points.
The group found that the proposals of the NPP and PD lack a clear focus, based on reconstruction projects and attracting foreign investment, but without specifying how the results will be measured.
In the second criterion of structure and viability, the economic proposals of the PIP and PPD candidates achieved a grade of B being, again, the highest average scores with 3.4 and 2.9, respectively.
Meanwhile, the PNP and PD also achieved a satisfactory rating with a score of 2.8 each.
The second criterion evaluated the scope of the economic proposals, their viability, and compatibility with the financial and fiscal situation of Puerto Rico, and whether they present a defined and realistic plan. The candidates did poorly.
For the third criterion of accountability, the committee evaluated whether the economic objectives are presented together with a follow-up and monitoring plan; if they are qualitatively and quantitatively measurable, and if they consider their socioeconomic impact in a defined period.
“Most proposals, by failing to set clear and specific goals, lack ways to measure the performance of economic proposals,”” the committee said.
Dalmau earned the highest grade for accountability with a grade of C or 2.8 points, followed by Ortiz with n a grade of D or (1.8 points) and, in turn, González with 1.7 points, also poor.
For his part, Jiménez received the lowest score, of 1.0, which is an F for offering less clarity.
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