Former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) defended this Saturday (7) the role of state-owned companies and criticized the current price policy of Petrobras and the capitalization of Eletrobras, during an event in which he made official his pre-candidacy for the Presidency of Republic with Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) as vice president.
“Defending our sovereignty is defending Petrobras, which is being dismantled and scrapped, day after day,” he said. “They put the pre-salt reserves for sale, handed over BR Distribuidora and the gas pipelines, interrupted the construction of some refineries and privatized others,” he added, without mentioning the episodes of corruption in the state-owned company, known as “petrolão”.
Lula mentioned the current fuel prices as a consequence of the policies adopted by Petrobras and declared that he will work to “give it back to the Brazilian people”.
“We are self-sufficient in oil, but we pay for one of the most expensive gasoline in the world, quoted in dollars, while Brazilians receive their salaries in reais”. Although self-sufficient in oil, Brazil is not self-sufficient in its derivatives. Therefore, Petrobras serves 80% of the market, the other 20% comes from abroad to serve the domestic market.
“We need to make Petrobras go back to being a big national company and once again transform itself into one of the biggest in the world. Put it back at the service of the Brazilian people, and not of large foreign shareholders. Make the pre-salt our passport to the future again by financing health, education and science”, he pointed out in a speech mostly read.
The PT pre-candidate for the presidency also said that the capitalization process of Eletrobras is a “crime”, and that public banks need to be defended so that the country can resume job creation.
“Defending sovereignty is defending Eletrobras, the largest power generation company in Latin America, from those who want Brazil to submit. But this crime against the country would be a loss for our energy sovereignty”, argued the former president.
“It is also about defending public banks, guaranteeing cheap credit to those who want to produce and generate jobs, finance sanitation works and the construction of houses, support family farming and small and medium rural producers”, he added.
The event that marked the launch of the Vamos Juntos pelo Brasil movement began at 10 am (Brasilia time) and was broadcast live on Lula’s social media.
Well-known names of the Workers’ Party were present, such as the former mayor of São Paulo Fernando Haddad and the party’s president, Gleise Hoffmann, as well as supporters of other acronyms, such as Guilherme Boulos (PSOL), Luiza Erundina (PSOL) and Marcelo Freixo. (PSB).
Due to Covid-19, the former governor of São Paulo and pre-candidate for Lula’s vice, Geraldo Alckmin, did not participate in person. He spoke minutes before Lula through a video call.
Former rivals on the same plate
The rapprochement between Lula and Alckmin, who were opponents, is recent. The talks between the two for the composition of the electoral plate began a few months ago and involved the departure of the former governor of São Paulo from the PSDB, the party where he stayed for 33 years.
Former rivals, both have exchanged strong criticisms. In one of the attacks on the PT when he was a presidential candidate for the PSDB in 2018, Alckmin said: “There is not the slightest chance of an alliance with the PT. I will contest and win the second round, to recover the jobs that they destroyed by looting Brazil. They will never have my support to return to the scene of the crime.”
Lula and Alckmin faced each other directly in debates in the 2006 electoral dispute, when PT was trying to get reelected and Alckmin was the toucan candidate for the Planalto.
In the debate promoted by RecordTV that year, Alckmin stated that the Lula government had two marks, “stopped in the economy and accelerated in scandals”.
He was referring to the Mensalão, a corruption scandal that exploded the previous year, in which the Lula government was accused of paying congressmen in exchange for votes.
Debate
CNN will hold the first presidential debate of 2022. The clash between the candidates will be broadcast live on August 6, on TV and on our digital platforms.
Source: CNN Brasil
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