Lula government removes Correios and other state-owned companies from the privatization program

A decree signed on Thursday (6) by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) made official the exclusion of some state-owned companies from the National Privatization Program. The qualifications of companies and assets under the Investment Partnership Program (PPI) were also revoked.

Among the state-owned companies that will no longer be privatized are Correios, EBC (Empresa Brasil de Comunicação), and Ceitec, the state-owned chip company.

The measure was already expected, not least because Lula has been critical of privatizations since the time of the election campaign.

In the case of Correios, the withdrawal of the privatization program had already been announced by the Minister of Communications, Juscelino Filho. In a ministerial meeting held in January, he had confirmed that the company would not be privatized.

According to information from the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), the privatization of Correios was already in an advanced process, with the hiring of companies to carry out studies on the financial conditions and operation of the state-owned company.

Last Wednesday (5), the Partnership and Investment Program Council (CPPI) had recommended the exclusion of Correios and Telebras from the National Privatization Program.

The proposal that provided for the privatization of Correios was sent to the National Congress by the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government still in 2021. After being approved in the Chamber, it is stopped in the Senate.

All state-owned companies withdrawn from privatization programs

In all, the presidential decree excluded seven companies from the National Privatization Program – PND:

• Brazilian Postal and Telegraph Company – ECT
• Brasil Communication Company – EBC
• Pension Technology and Information Company – Dataprev
• Nuclebrás Equipamentos Pesados ​​SA – Nuclep
• Federal Data Processing Service – Serpro
• Brazilian Agency for the Management of Guarantor Funds and Guarantees SA – ABGF
• National Center for Advanced Electronic Technology SA – Ceitec.

The qualifications for the PPI – Investment Partnerships Program of three companies were also revoked:

• Brazilian Company of Petroleum and Natural Gas Administration SA – Pré-Sal Petróleo SA – PPSA
• Telecomunicações Brasileiras SA – Telebras.
• warehouses and properties owned by the National Supply Company – Conab contained in the Annex to Decree No. 10,767, of August 12, 2021.