Lira threatens to vote revocation of Lula’s acts on sanitation milestone

The mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), gave a direct message to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), asking him to review the terms of the two decrees, of April 5, dedicated to changing the New Legal Framework of Sanitation (Law 14.026/20) and to privilege state-owned companies in the sector. If Lula does not give in to this appeal, the deputy promises to take to the plenary session a vote on a draft legislative decree (PDL) with the force to overthrow the PT’s initiatives.

“The climate in the Chamber is not one of satisfaction and the possibility of voting on a PDL exists. But, always before taking a PDL forward, I have the habit of exhausting the discussion as much as possible, so that the government can review the exaggerations”, declared Lira in an interview with the program Free Channelfrom the TV Bandeirantes, on Sunday (16). For him, the government will soon have to negotiate changes in the decrees to prevent their annulment.

The imbroglio represents Lira’s first tussle with the government and occurred shortly after the formation of the party superbloco – made up of 173 deputies from the PP, União Brasil, PDT, PSB, Solidariedade, Avante, Patriota and Cidadania-PSDB – which replaced the president of the Chamber as protagonist of the negotiations in the Chamber.

For André Rosa, professor of Political Science at the Centro Universitário do Distrito Federal (UDF), the scenario that is emerging forces the government to expand the range of benefits reserved for Lira’s group, within the logic of coalition presidentialism. “On the other hand, there is a serious risk that the Executive will have serious governability problems with possible disputes for power within Congress itself”, he observed.

Goal of universalization of services can be postponed

Approved in 2020 by Congress, the new framework aims to increase competition in water and sewage services in the country, allowing the private sector to invest more and there are goals for building networks and improving the quality of service to the population. Lula’s decrees go in the opposite direction and, therefore, have generated resistance in the sector and in political groups, in addition to encouraging questions in court.

One of the most controversial points of the decrees was what allows state-owned companies to provide services in metropolitan regions, urban agglomerations and micro-regions without bidding. Before Lula’s decrees, 1,113 municipalities, with 30 million inhabitants, had contracts with water and sewage companies considered irregular after analyzing their ability to meet the objectives of the framework, blocking access to federal resources.

The new regulation aims to universalize water and sewage services by 2033, bringing drinking water to 99% of the population and collecting and treating sewage for 90%. Today, 100 million Brazilians do not have a sewer system and 35 million lack drinking water, according to the Trata Brasil Institute. Experts fear that the flexibilities practiced by Lula could harm the universalization goals established within the scope of the legal framework.

The Brazilian Association of Private Concessionaires of Public Water and Sewage Services (Abcon) reported in a note that Lula’s decrees “very likely” could delay the reach of universalization of services. The entity defends competition through bidding processes as essential to meeting investment and quality targets.

On April 6, Novo filed an allegation of Non-compliance with a Fundamental Precept (ADPF) with the Federal Supreme Court (STF) asking for the suspension of the decrees. The party’s president, Eduardo Ribeiro, stated that this change in the rules was “the biggest setback proposed by the Lula government so far”.

According to Ribeiro, the new framework unlocked investments in the sector and was well on its way to solving a historic and serious problem in Brazil. “It is unbelievable that they have the courage to do such a thing,” he declared. In the action, Novo argues that the federal government violated precepts of the separation of powers, human dignity, the reduction of regional inequalities, the environment, the federative pact and the bidding process.

So far, three PDLs have been presented that may be processed in aggregate form. The first was by deputy Kim Kataguiri (União Brasil-SP), on the grounds of invasion of the Planalto over the Legislative harvest.

Leftist parties voted against the new framework and are now trying to reverse the legislation approved by the Chamber and Senate after extensive debate and ongoing projects that add up to R$ 90 billion over the next 10 years.

The change in the regulatory framework is seen as a setback in the privatization program of state sanitation companies, such as those in Rio de Janeiro (Cedae), which has already produced positive effects. In São Paulo, the privatization of Sabesp is a campaign promise of Governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans).