It is false that the bridge over the Araguaia River was embargoed by Lula – 7/5/2023 – Market

It is not true that the construction of the bridge over the Araguaia River, which will connect the municipalities of Xambioá, in Tocantins, to São Geraldo do Araguaia, in Pará, by BR-153, has been embargoed by President Lula (PT).

Sought by the Comprova Project, Dnit (National Department of Transport Infrastructure), an autarchy linked to the Ministry of Infrastructure, said that the works began in February 2020 and 87.5% of the services have been completed, with delivery expected in early 2020. 2024. The body said that the values ​​needed for the work throughout this year are guaranteed in the LOA (Annual Budget Law) of 2023. The document provides for the allocation of R$ 14.7 million to the project.

The report consulted data from the Transparency Portal to check the progress of the release of funds for the work. This year alone, there were BRL 1.45 million in commitments and BRL 23.2 million in payments by Dnit, out of a total of BRL 181 million in funds transferred since 2020. The most recent payment notes are from the 23rd of June of this year.

False, for Comprova, is content that was invented or that has been edited to change its original meaning and deliberately disseminated to spread a falsehood.

Reach

Comprova investigates suspicious content with greater reach on social networks. The video analyzed in this check had more than 382,000 views, 33,000 likes and 17,000 shares as of July 3rd.

How do we check

The report carried out this verification through contacts with public bodies and the consortium responsible for carrying out the work, documentary research and analysis of data from the Transparency Portal.

It was not possible to identify the date of recording and authorship, but there is a way to confirm the location of the video by comparing the images with news from TV Brasil and other press vehicles. These sources corroborate that this is the work on the Xambioá bridge.

Public information shows that it is a work of the federal government, with resources from Dnit and parliamentary amendments. The report contacted Dnit by email, which said that the work was not embargoed and was expected to be completed in early 2024.

The work

The Xambioá bridge is 1,727 meters long and will connect the states of Tocantins and Pará via the BR-153 highway. The crossing today depends on ferries operated by the company Pipes.

The bidding notice for the work was published by Dnit in October 2016, within the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC). About a year later, in September 2017, former President Michel Temer (MDB) signed the contract for the construction of the bridge.

The work, however, took a while to get off the ground due to a legal imbroglio. The contracted consortium, formed by the companies Gaspar, Arteleste and V. Garambone, had given the second best bid, but won the dispute because the group composed by OAS and Embrafe was disqualified. The disqualified consortium went to court and obtained an injunction at the TRF-1 (Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region). The determination was reversed by the STJ only in June 2019.

In April 2020, the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro signed the work order for the construction of the Xambioá bridge, resuming the project with Gaspar. The cost, at the time, was estimated at R$ 157 million, with delivery expected in September 2022. According to information from Dnit, the work was 70% completed in August last year.

Data from the Transparency Portal show that funds began to be released in 2020. By the end of the Bolsonaro government, the Union had pledged R$208.2 million, of which R$157.9 million had actually been paid. As of 2023, with the Lula government, there were R$1.45 million in commitments and R$23.2 million in payments.

Commitment refers to a kind of reserve of money, in order to commit that amount within the public budget. The payment represents the transfer of the value to the service provider.

The work, therefore, required R$ 181 million from public coffers until June of this year, including direct expenses with the work and other indirect ones, such as an environmental impact study and expropriations. The transparency page informs that all resources were released within the Dnit budget, but part of the amount originates from amendments by parliamentary benches.

LOA 2023 foresees the release of BRL 14.7 million this year for “Construction of a Bridge over the Araguaia River in Xambioá – on BR-153/TO”, within Dnit’s budget and adding all sources of funds.

What the person responsible for the publication says

The report failed to identify the author of the original video. The profile that published the analyzed content is an anonymous page that does not allow the sending of direct messages.

What can we learn from this check

The video analyzed in this check invests in a conspiracy theory that the government is interested in favoring the so-called “ferry industry” and is not committed to finishing works carried out by previous administrations. This type of rumor is quite common in related matters, such as the transposition of the São Francisco River. When receiving such an allegation, try to confirm the information in reliable sources, such as well-known press vehicles.

why do we investigate

Comprova monitors suspicious content published on social networks and messaging apps about public policies and elections at the federal level and opens investigations for those publications that have achieved greater reach and engagement. You can also suggest checks via WhatsApp +55 11 97045-4984.

Other checks on the topic

Comprova has already denied similar rumors that the Lula government would have closed the floodgates of the São Francisco transposition to benefit tanker car owners or expelled miners to sell the Amazon to a foreign company in exchange for money for an environmental fund.

UOL Confere also analyzed the rumor and classified it as false.

The investigation of this content was carried out by Estadão and published on July 3 by Projeto Comprova, a coalition that brings together 41 vehicles to check viral content. It was verified by Folha, A Gazeta, AFP, O Popular, Correio do Estado, SBT and SBT News.