Chamber approves bill that changes State-Owned Law and frees Mercadante to take over BNDES

The Chamber of Deputies approved on Tuesday night (13) a bill that changes the State-Owned Companies Law to reduce to 30 days the quarantine period for nominees to occupy positions of president and director of public companies.

The alteration may benefit former minister Aloizio Mercadante, appointed this Tuesday as president of the BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development) in the government of president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

The basic text, authored by deputy Celina Leão (PP-DF), was approved by 314 to 66. Only PSDB and Novo advised against the project. Deputies rejected a Novo highlight to change the quarantine. Now, the proposal goes to the Senate.

The project was reported by deputy Margarete Coelho (PP-PI), right arm of the mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL). She was responsible for including this Tuesday the change involving positions of presidency and director in the approved substitute.

Today, the law prohibits the appointment to the board of directors and to the positions of director, including president, director-general and director-president, of people who have acted, in the last 36 months, as a participant in the decision-making structure of a political party or in work linked to the organization, structuring and carrying out of an electoral campaign.

The text reported by Margarete removes the mention of 36 months from the main item. In addition, it includes a device that provides that, in order not to be prohibited, the person who has acted in the decision-making structure of a political party or in work linked to the electoral campaign must prove his withdrawal from the incompatible activity at least 30 days in advance of taking office. as administrator of a public company or government-controlled company, as well as members of boards of directors.

That is, if the law is sanctioned, Mercadante will be released to occupy the presidency of the BNDES.

According to Margarete, the change was designed to benefit politicians from smaller cities who would be prevented from holding positions in public companies.

“People who, for example, assume directorates of small political parties in small municipalities are placed under suspicion and, therefore, are prevented from doing so for 36 months, they are under suspicion for 36 months”, argued the deputy. “What is understood is that there is a certain exacerbation in this period. This is the justification for the report and the justification for the vote as well.”

Deputy Marcel Van Hattem (Novo-RS) criticized the change. “The amendment has a first and last name: Amendment Aloizio Mercadante. It is not possible. We heard the rapporteur here say that it is to preserve the possibility of directors of municipalities where, due to their small size, the directories are not representative and, therefore, these leaders could come to participate in the administration of state-owned companies,” he said.

“With all due respect to the rapporteur, but it is mocking the intelligence of colleagues. Today Aloizio Mercadante was announced as president of the BNDES. inmate Lula as president of the BNDES when the State-Owned Companies Law does not allow it”, he added. “A series of conjectures came out for this amendment to come out tonight, Aloizio Mercadante.”

Mercadante acted as technical coordinator of Lula’s transition team and, after a trajectory of redemption, was already an expected name to command the bank – which provoked a bad reaction from the financial market.

The project also reduces the quarantine for appointees to the board of directors or collegiate board of regulatory agencies. Today, the ban is also applied to anyone who has worked in the last 36 months in the decision-making structure of a political party or in work linked to the electoral campaign. The project reduces the fence to 30 days.

The approved bill also increases from 0.5% to 2% the limit on advertising and sponsorship expenses for public companies and government-controlled companies.