The acting President of the Republic, Hamilton Mourão, issued a provisional measure (MP) this Thursday (20) that opens extraordinary credit in the amount of R$ 418 million to the Ministry of Infrastructure. The funds will be used to recover roads affected by the rains in 14 states: Acre, Amazonas, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Maranhão, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Pará, Piauí, Rio de Janeiro, Rondônia, São Paulo and Tocantins.
At the end of December, the federal government released BRL 200 million for the recovery of highways in several states, mainly Bahia and Minas Gerais, which register, until now, the largest extension of damaged roads.
President Jair Bolsonaro himself, who is in official visit to Suriname, announced the release of funds during its live weekly, broadcast on social networks. According to the Minister of Infrastructure, Tarcísio Freitas, who also participated in the live, the government mapped most of the roads damaged by the rains and floods that occurred in recent weeks.
“We have already mapped all the situations, we have contracts for most of these situations. [contrato] we are in the final phase to establish this contract. Some problems are simpler to solve and will take around 48 hours, but others are more complex and may take a few weeks”, said the minister.
Regional development
Another provisional measure issued this Thursday opens an extraordinary credit of R$ 550 million for actions by the Ministry of Regional Development to face the consequences of heavy rains and also to support states that have been suffering from the drought in the southern region of the country.
According to the federal government, this credit will cover expenses related to relief, assistance to victims, supply of drinking water, basic food baskets, hygiene and cleaning material, fuel and dormitories and mattresses for the homeless. They will also be used in air support to rescue the affected population, transport medicines and equipment and restore essential services, given that many areas are still isolated.
Regarding the drought in the South Region, the credit will be directed to the purchase of basic food baskets, rental of water trucks, fuel expenses, among other measures.