During a meeting with the secretary of the National Treasury, Rogério Ceron, last Monday (8/1), governor Romeu Zema (Novo) strengthened the request for a response to the letter proposing the federalization of the Minas Gerais Development Company (Codemig) . The document provides that the company, managed by the government of Minas Gerais, will be transferred to the federal executive in exchange for the reduction of part of the R$ 160 billion debt that the state owes to the Union. one of the largest niobium reserves in the world, its market value – proposed by Zema – corresponds to just a quarter of the debt.
Read: The origins of Minas Gerais’ billions in public debt
The plan, drawn up between the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), the state deputies and the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira (PSD-MG), also provides for the federalization of the Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais (Cemig) and the Minas Gerais Reclamation Company (Copasa). In a note, however, the Minas Gerais government did not specify whether the businesses will be put on the agenda. The report even asked the state if the companies had been cited, but received no response.
According to the state executive, the transfer from Codemig could generate revenues of around R$40 billion. The value was set by the government itself, which commissioned a private company to carry out the evaluation. This Wednesday (1/10), Cemig and Copasa were worth R$28.94 billion and R$8.29 billion respectively: values may vary depending on market fluctuations.
In November, during a meeting with Pacheco and Finance Minister Fernando Haddad (PT), Zema signaled that he agreed with the federalization of the three companies. The same day, in a press conference, he reiterated his willingness to accept the proposal, specifying however that the measure will have to be subjected to a technical analysis by the Department of Finance. The plan presented includes a clause that allows companies to be bought back by the State within 20 years.
Debt reduction
After five years in which governor Romeu Zema insisted that the Fiscal Recovery Regime (RRF) would be the only option to restore state coffers, Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco presented a proposal that includes direct negotiation with the Lula government to pay off the mining debt. The text was presented as an alternative to Zema’s idea, which had difficulty being approved by the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais (ALMG), as it imposes on the State various fiscal austerity measures which affect, among other things, investments and public server adjustments.
Read: Federalization alone won’t solve debt, analysts say
In his project, Pacheco listed four possible points to resolve the debt. In addition to the federalization of the three companies managed by the government of Minas Gerais, the possibility was envisaged for the Union to use the sums received by the State from the mining companies responsible for the breaches of the Mariana and Brumadinho dams for the Union. raised and the use of compensation amounts under the Kandir Law.
The possibility was also raised of establishing a new program for the full payment of state debts, a new REFIS for the States, developed by the federal government and the National Congress, as a general rule for federal debtor entities that have the clear intention to pay free them from your tax debt.
2024-01-10 23:30:00
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