Kassio sends Lula’s action for more control at Eletrobras for conciliation

The Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Kassio Nunes, forwarded to the Conciliation and Arbitration Chamber of the Federal Administration (CCAF) the action in which President Lula (PT) claims greater voting power for the Union in Eletrobras.

In the action, the Federal Attorney General’s Office (AGU) questions the Eletrobras Privatization Law (Law 14,182/2022) and suggests the opening of conciliatory negotiations.

Law 14,182/2022 prohibits shareholders or groups of shareholders from having voting power exceeding 10% of the number of shares into which the company’s voting capital is divided. The Union is subject to the rule even though it holds around 42% of the shares.

For AGU, applying the rule before the privatization process is unconstitutional and harms the public interest.

In the order, Kassio Nunes highlighted that the action does not deal with “renationalization of the company, nor the unconstitutionality of the Eletrobras Privatization Law”.

For the minister, the action can be resolved through institutional dialogue.

“Any decision by the Supreme Court could have a significant impact not only on the administration of Eletrobras, but also on the national electrical system and, ultimately, on the economic order itself. In light of the jurisprudence of this House, the application of public law must observe a legal ethics component. In this context, and with a view to maximizing fundamental rights, so that citizens are not subjected to situations of instability in legal-administrative relations, institutional dialogue and a conciliatory approach must be sought, considering all interests at stake. ”, says an excerpt from the decision published on December 19th.

PT wants Eletrobras “as it was”

On the same day that Lula filed a lawsuit with the STF questioning Law 14,182/2022, the president of the PT, Gleisi Hoffmann, said that the party’s position is to resume the company “as it was”.

Eletrobras ceased to be controlled by the Union in June 2022, under the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL). Critical of the initiative, Lula won the election four months later, promising to review the privatization process and defending a resumption of the leading role that state-owned companies had under the PT governments.