Alckmin rejects privatization of Petrobras, BB and Caixa, but criticizes state companies

For an audience of entrepreneurs in the infrastructure sector, former governor Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) said that Petrobras, Caixa and Banco do Brasil will not be privatized in a possible new PT government.

Vice on the ticket of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who leads the polls, Alckmin represented PT in an event organized by Abdib (Brazilian Association of Infrastructure and Basic Industries) this Monday afternoon (29). ), in Sao Paulo.

Alckmin’s talk about privatization was received without much enthusiasm by the audience. Asked about important assets, such as Petrobras, Caixa and BB, always being cited as possible privatization projects, the candidate spoke about the fate of large federal state-owned companies, such as these three, and about what could be privatized if former President Lula return to the Plateau.

“Companies that are large federal state-owned companies are these three, Banco do Brasil, Caixa Econômica Federal and Petrobras, practically. The rest are smaller companies. If we take the three large companies, it is not a priority to privatize any of them. [delas]. We already have fewer banks, if we are going to reduce it even more… What we need is to reduce the cost of money.”

Still, Alckmin did not stop criticizing other state-owned companies. “Brazil has something weird, and the states also have it: a company dependent on the Treasury. They should be autarchies. If the company doesn’t have its own resources to maintain itself, what company is this?”, he asked.

The movement is more reminiscent of Alckmin, who wore a beige jacket with the emblems of Banco do Brasil, Caixa, Petrobras and Correios — when he was running for president, in 2006, against Lula, who called him a privatist at the time — and the retreat made by him. in 2018, when also discarding the sale of the two public banks and the exploration of oil in deep waters, than the legacy of privatizations of the PSDB governments, acronym by which the former governor ran until the last elections.

The politician, who has worked as a bridge between former President Lula and businessmen, maintained a strategy for which he was known: remembering stories from the time he was mayor of Pindamonhangaba (SP) and the period in which he occupied the Palácio dos Bandeirantes .

He, who introduced himself to businessmen as a “co-pilot” of Lula, also did not fail to stitch together examples of his works as governor with what he considers advances by PT governments, such as a better design of concession models.

At the event, the former governor also defended the resumption of public investments and said that, for this, Brazil needs to signal to the world that it has a stable democracy. “Without democracy, there is no way to do well in the economy.”

He also pointed out the need for the country to advance in concessions and PPPs (Public-Private Partnerships), without disregarding the performance, as guarantor, of the BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development).

This Monday’s meeting also featured Felipe d’Avila (Novo), former governor of Rio Grande do Sul Germano Rigotto (who represented MDB candidate Simone Tebet) and Ciro Gomes (PDT).

President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) was also invited and would end the cycle of debates, but he had not confirmed his presence until this Monday and did not participate in the event. According to the entity, the organization of the campaign also did not justify the absence of Bolsonaro, who had canceled other commitments earlier.

Ciro’s participation has a relaxed atmosphere

Candidate for the PDT, ex-minister Ciro Gomes also seemed comfortable at the meeting, the day after having participated in the first debate between presidential candidates, and even drew laughter from the audience on more than one occasion.

Before the event, Ciro told the press that the debate made it possible to demonstrate the clash between an “old” and “rancorous” Brazil – which, according to him, would have been represented by the confrontation between Lula and Bolsonaro – and also allowed to show signs of a change of heart. economic model. “This project is ready and I had the opportunity to announce it.”

“The economic model is a very practical thing, it points out the role of private capital. There is no precedent in the history of humanity, no experience of a nation that has launched its infrastructure without the presence of the State”, Ciro told the audience.

Earlier, d’Avila, from Novo, had criticized PT’s management in handling infrastructure demands. “It was in the disastrous PT government, in which infrastructure became a hanger for jobs in Brazil,” said the candidate. He also stated that part of the private sector has found it easier “to capture government than to capture the market”.

To resume public investment, he defends the resumption of the spending ceiling. “We need to face excess spending on personnel, face administrative reform and give more power to states and municipalities.”

Rigotto, former governor of Rio Grande do Sul and coordinator of Tebet’s campaign, defended changes in the spending ceiling to reopen the possibility of investments in important areas for the country.