Zema exalts the South and Southeast and says that states have more people working than receiving aid – 02/06/2023 – Politics

The governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema (Novo), said this Friday (2) that the states of the South and Southeast are different because in them there is a greater proportion of people working than living on emergency aid.

The declaration took place at the opening of the Cosud (South and Southeast Integration Consortium) meeting, in Belo Horizonte, in the presence of another 5 of the 7 governors of the two regions, who intend to formalize the creation of the group —which requires approval by the Legislative Assemblies .

The opening took place at Sala Minas Gerais, the official venue for presentations by the State Philharmonic Orchestra. Only the head of the Executive Branch of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), did not participate in the opening. His arrival in the capital of Minas Gerais is still expected for this Friday.

“If there are states that can contribute to this country’s success, I believe these seven states are here. They are states where, unlike the vast majority, there is a much higher proportion of people working than living on emergency aid,” he said.

“So, certainly, a good part of the solution for Brazil passes through these seven states”, added Zema, who has been trying to become viable as a pre-candidate for the Presidency of the Republic in 2026.

In the early afternoon, in conversation with reporters at the Palácio da Liberdade, the former seat of the state government, the governors tried to make it clear that the consortium intends to work together with other states.

“Our quest is for us to have a joint action in the states of the South and Southeast” said the governor of Espírito Santo, Renato Casagrande (PSB).

“Naturally, we want the consortium to be formalized so that it can work in partnership with the other consortia in Brazil, in the Northeast, in the Amazon, to help Brazil find its opportunities,” he added.

The governor of Santa Catarina, Jorginho Mello (PL), from the main opposition party to the federal government, said that the creation of the consortium has nothing to do with arrogance. “These are states that are no better than anyone else in the country, but we carry, produce and transport Brazil’s great wealth”.

“It is important to say that the consortium of states will be assertive in defending the interests of the South and Southeast regions, but absolutely solidary with all other regions, and collaborative with the common interest of the nation”, pointed out the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Milk (PSDB).

The governor of Rio de Janeiro, Claudio Castro (PL), said that the consortium’s actions will respect all other states and will be done in a non-arrogant manner. “It’s a collaborative idea, not one of supremacy.”

Despite the fact that the parties of 5 of the 7 governors are not aligned with the federal government (PL, Novo and PSDB), the heads of the Executive Powers gathered in Belo Horizonte denied that they will oppose the Lula government. For Zema, however, proposals may not please everyone.

“We are a group of governors from different parties and consequently our proposals here are non-partisan. What we want is to defend good proposals. What we want is to contribute. Now, it may be that our contribution will not please everyone”, said the Governor Zema.

“This is not a partisan issue. There are no left and right here. Here it is who produces and who works for the growth of Brazil. The group is supra-party. We want to contribute. Nobody here is seeing an ideological issue,” said the governor of Santa Catherine.

This is the eighth edition of Cosud. The previous one took place in March in Rio de Janeiro. According to the governors, one of the main agendas to be defended is tax reform. The meeting in Belo Horizonte ends this Saturday (3).