New government discusses making the State-Owned Law more flexible

Members of the transition team internally debate the possibility of making changes to the State-Owned Companies Law in order to allow political appointments.

Two immediate beneficiaries have been cited behind the scenes: Aloizio Mercadante, quoted to take over the BNDES, and Senator Jean Paul Prates, quoted to take over Petrobras.

If the law is not changed, they could not be appointed.

This is because article 17 of Law 13.303/2016 provides that for positions of directors, presidency and members of the Board of Directors of state-owned companies, nominees cannot have acted, in the last 36 months, “as a participant in the decision-making structure of a political party or in work linked to the organization, structuring and carrying out of an electoral campaign”.

The law also prevents the appointment of a “minister of state” and “statutory leader of a political party”.

Mercadante is president of the Perseu Abramo Foundation, the PT’s advisory body. Jean Paul is the leader of the party in Rio Grande do Norte.

One of the ideas put forward is that in the first days of government a Provisional Measure be edited making the law more flexible. The assessment is that its processing would have no problems given that many parliamentarians, especially from the Centrão, consider the law to be very rigid and its change would open up space for appointments by this group.

The State-owned Law was approved in the Michel Temer government as a response to the accusations of corruption in Operation Lava Jato that pointed to corruption in Petrobras.

Source: CNN Brasil

You may also like