The “jabutis” included in the Offshore Wind Power Plants Bill (on the high seas) that will increase the electricity bill will be vetoed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said this Thursday (9) the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad . “Jabutis” are excerpts included in bills even though they are unrelated to the original theme.
The text approved by the Senate at the end of last year has until this Friday (10) to be sanctioned or vetoed.
According to Haddad, the recommendation was unanimous among the ministries involved in the project. “All the ministries that spoke out were unanimous in relation to this [ao veto dos “jabutis”]including because there is serious damage to the popular economy. There is a real problem that the electricity bills of the poorest people are affected by this decision”, said the minister before leaving for a meeting with President Lula.
When voting on the regulatory framework for wind energy, in December, the Senate maintained three articles inserted by the Chamber of Deputies that benefit more expensive coal and natural gas thermoelectric plants. Included in the text under protest from environmental entities and energy companies themselves, the measures increase the costs of energy distribution by R$22 billion per year until 2050. This would correspond to a 9% increase in the electricity bill, according to the associations of the electrical sector.
Primary impact
As for the state debt renegotiation bill, which must be sanctioned or vetoed by the 13th, Haddad said that President Lula must veto the points that affect the government’s primary result target – the difference between revenues and expenses without the interest on public debt. This morning, the minister met with Lula to discuss the state debt renegotiation project.
“What we are bringing to the president’s consideration [Lula] is that everything that has a primary impact is vetoed. There are some items with primary impact. It also has an impact on state and federal finances,” said Haddad. The minister reiterated that the absence of impact on public accounts was a condition agreed with Congress for the approval of the project.
Haddad did not want to anticipate the points that should be vetoed. According to the minister, the decision will be up to Lula. “Anything that reduces debt burdens going forward has no primary impact. Everything that affects the stock has a primary impact. So, everything that has an impact on the stock, due to the model that Congress created, the recommendation is a veto”, the minister limited himself to stating.
Authored by the President of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), the proposal creates a special aid program for states, with debt installments over up to 30 years at lower interest rates than current ones. The government suggested a special reduction in debt interest for states that invested more in educationbut Congress made the proposal more flexible.
By December 31st of this year, states must adhere to the special renegotiation. Currently budgeted at R$765 billion, the states’ debt with the Union has more than 90% of the value concentrated in four states: Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul and Goiás.
