Political dispute brings Copasa closer to privatization – 7/6/2023 – Panel SA

With an eye on reelection, the president of the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais, Tadeu Leite (MDB), wants to change the order of privatizations in the state. Instead of Codemig, as Governor Romeu Zema prefers, he intends to sell Copasa.

Codemig is the public company responsible for the economic development of Minas. Copasa is the state-owned basic sanitation company. Both need the approval of the Legislative Assembly to be privatized.

According to Zema’s allies, Leite’s idea is to use Codemig’s dividends to invest in state highways, which require urgent maintenance work.

On another front, Tadeu wants to approve a PEC to remove the need for a popular referendum for the sale of Copasa, a deal that, in the evaluation of deputies, could yield more than R$ 10 billion.
Under the plan, Cemig, the state energy company, would remain untouched.

The strategy helps Governor Romeu Zema raise funds and would pressure him to support Tadeu Leite for re-election.

In the last election, Zema only declared support for Tadeu when the politician’s victory was already taken for granted. This time, Tadeu wants to leave everything tied up.

With Diego Felix

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