Governors formalize consortium after controversy with Northeast

O South and Southeast Integration Consortium (Cosud) was formalized, in São Paulo, this Thursday (19) during the three-day event, which is attended by the “presidential” governors of the Brazilian right: the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) , Ratinho Junior (PSD) from Paraná and the governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema (Novo).

During the press conference, the trio stated that Cosud has no political bias and no objective of being a counterpoint to the Lula Government. “In no way does this represent a distancing from the federal government. The word is to cooperate, dialogue and develop”, highlights Freitas.

Zema, who was the target of criticism in August, when he defended the consortium in opposition to the privileges in serving the northeastern states, highlighted that Cosud “came to add and not divide”.

“These seven states have the greatest interest in this country moving forward and they are the states that can contribute the most, both because of what they represent in terms of population and what they represent in terms of production”, declared the governor of Minas Gerais, who ended his speech by saying that “the Brazil will be fine.”

The group has a rotating presidency, currently coordination is in the hands of the governor of Paraná, who criticized countries that point the finger at Brazil, but are not doing well on the environment. “Often countries that didn’t do their homework point the finger at us” criticizes Ratinho, who defended sustainable development.

Eduardo Leite (PSDB), governor of Rio Grande do Sul and the vice-governor of Santa Catarina, Marilisa Boehm (PL), were also at the event. Both advocated the creation of a emergency fund for climate problems. The southern states are suffering from the impact of heavy rains that have claimed lives and left people homeless in recent weeks.

Cosud was created in 2019, but only this year did it become an official group, because it had to be approved by the seven legislative assemblies that make up the group. Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro still need to formalize their entry into the consortium.

Together, the states have around 119 million inhabitants and 70% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) national, according to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The most discussed topics in this edition of the Consortium will be the integration of Public security between states and public policies aimed at environment It is sustainability.