Fiemg president says that Zema’s proposal for the South-Southeast bloc is a “natural union”

Textile entrepreneur Flávio Roscoe, president of the Federation of Industries of the State of Minas Gerais (Fiemg), stated that he sees the proposal by the governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema (Novo), to form a bloc between southern and southeastern states. At the beginning of the month, Zema said that the states in these regions should act in a single bloc in Congress to avoid economic losses, as the states in the North and Northeast already do.

“Why can the Northeast associate and the Southeast not?”, said Roscoe in an interview with State of S. Paulo released this Thursday (15). The South-Southeast Consortium (Cosud), currently chaired by the governor of Paraná, Ratinho Júnior (PSD), has existed informally since 2019, but the idea now is for it to be institutionalized. However, Zema’s statements were associated with encouraging confrontation between regions and even separatism.

“It became a political discussion. Why can the Northeast join and the Southeast not? I will reverse the discussion. Are they first class and we are second? When they create a united group, are they not separatists? And we, yes? It is a natural union, those who have a common interest must unite. It is a political issue”, said the president of Femig.

“It is the role of the governor of Minas Gerais to pursue his interests, just as it is the role of the governors of the Northeast to pursue theirs. I respect all regions and think they should unite around common interests. Unfortunately, the political tone is exacerbated. Here, we can’t even talk to each other,” he added.