Lula gives positions to União Brasil at Codevasf and caresses Lira – 03/14/2023 – Politics

In an attempt to attract votes in Congress, President Lula (PT) will expand the space of União Brasil in charge of Codevasf (Company for the Development of the São Francisco and Parnaíba Valleys).

To avoid retaliation, the Chief Executive must also keep a nominee of the mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), in a key position in the body.

Codevasf was delivered by Jair Bolsonaro to the centrão and maintained that way by Lula in exchange for support in Congress.

Interlocutors from the Palácio do Planalto claim that the government has already given approval for the União Brasil, which has presided over the body since the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to nominate two boards, which today are with allies of Senator Ciro Nogueira ( PP-PI) and former senator Roberto Rocha (PTB).

With 59 deputies and 9 senators, the party nominated names to head three ministries in the government and still declares itself independent. The effort is to guarantee the vote of at least 30 deputies in most polls.

Last Sunday (11) the Sheet revealed that the Lula government signed contracts worth around BRL 650 million inherited from Bolsonaro, which lead to the current management a series of contractors and conduct suspected of cartel practice in paving works at Codevasf.

The companies contemplated now and the suspicious practices in the competitions are similar to those revealed last year in an audit by the TCU (Union Court of Auditors) on the action of a so-called “asphalt cartel” based on bids by the federal state-owned company.

The Lula government signed the contracts and maintained the direction of Codevasf appointed by Bolsonaro, even with this and other inspections by the TCU and the CGU (Controladoria-Geral da União) that point to serial irregularities, such as overbilling, deviations and precarious works.

Codevasf’s summit is made up of the presidency and three boards. The only thing that União Brasil will not do is control the management board of the irrigation projects, where Luís Napoleão Casado was appointed. Napoleão Casado is nominated by Lira, who has also been there since the previous management.

With a budget of R$ 1.8 billion this year, Codevasf was inflated by resources from parliamentary amendments in the Bolsonaro government, which expanded the allotment of positions in the body. Last year, the Sheet revealed evidence of fraud in the state-owned company, which was the target of an operation by the Federal Police.

The presidency of Codevasf will continue with Marcelo Andrade Moreira Pinto – appointed by deputy Elmar Nascimento (BA), leader of União Brasil in the Chamber. One of the parliamentarians closest to Lira, Elmar was vetoed by PT members to occupy one of the vacancies of União Brasil in Lula’s ministry.

The Planalto Palace seeks to meet requests for party positions in the second and third echelon in order to consolidate the support of the group linked to Elmar.

With the changes foreseen in Codevasf, the PTB and the PP will lose their posts.

The director of the integrated development and infrastructure area, Antônio Rosendo Neto Junior, was appointed by Rocha, while Rodrigo Moura Parentes Sampaio, director of watershed revitalization, is an ally of Ciro Nogueira.

In the current design, the prediction is that, in their place, people linked to other members of União Brasil, deputies Fernando Coelho Filho (PE) and Paulo Azi (BA), will enter.

Lula’s assistants say they will comply with the agreement reached with the party and that the nominations should come out this month.

The changes at Codevasf and at other state-owned companies are intended to form a more consistent base of support for the government in Congress. With that, the Planalto Palace immediately tried to prevent the articulation to create a CPI on the coup acts of January 8th.

In the evaluation of Lula’s allies, the president has managed, so far, to politically capitalize on the anti-democratic attacks of the beginning of the government and, if the CPI is opened, there is a risk that the opposition will seek facts to reverse this situation.

In addition to the negotiations involving Codevasf’s directorates, Planalto should also use part of the state’s 12 superintendencies to serve more allies.

In the case of the regional superintendence of Penedo, in Alagoas, João José Pereira Filho, who is Lira’s cousin, should also remain in office.

The superintendence of Petrolina, in Pernambuco, should be appointed by Sílvio Costa Filho (Republicanos-PE). He is an ally of Lula and one of the interlocutors of the Republicans, a party that Planalto tries to attract to its support base in Congress.

Today, the post of superintendent of Pernambuco belongs to Aurivalter Cordeiro da Silva, who was appointed by former senator Fernando Bezerra Coelho (MDB). He is the father of Fernando Coelho Filho and who will be chosen as one of the new directors of União Brasil at the state-owned company.

The government will also decide who will be the superintendent of Maranhão because it wants to use the post to serve the local base and carry out political negotiations.

In addition, he asked the União Brasil not to make, for the time being, any nomination for the superintendence of Minas Gerais.

Since Lula took office, there has only been a change in the superintendence of Teresina, Piauí, where Inaldo Guerra, another ally of Ciro Nogueira, was stationed. The government has put, for the time being, José Ocelo Rocha Júnior as a substitute – the objective was to remove the senator’s ally.

To serve Senator Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP), the government should also keep Hilton Rogério Cardoso in the post of superintendent of Codevasf in Macapá, Amapá. He was nominated by Alcolumbre while still in the Bolsonaro administration.

According to members of the Planalto Palace, all nominations made by the União Brasil and other parties will undergo a political evaluation so that the government can verify that they will not promote disarrangement among local allies.

Lula wants to compose with some governors and, therefore, avoid nominations that displease some of his allies.