Minister Flávio Dino, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), determined this Sunday (24) that the municipality of São Paulo reestablish the sale and charging of cemetery and funeral services at the values prior to the concession of these activities.
In the decision taken based on an action presented by PCdoB, the minister says he saw commercial practices adopted by concessionaires that violate constitutional precepts.
“I partially grant the precautionary measure, to determine, until the merits examination, that the municipality of São Paulo reestablish the commercialization and charging of funeral, cemetery and cremation services, having as a ceiling the values practiced immediately before the concessions (“privatization”) , updated by the IPCA – Broad National Consumer Price Index until this date”, he decided.
The case will be analyzed by the virtual plenary of the STF, in a session scheduled from December 6th to 13th. For now, the minister has only made a preliminary decision on the charging point, leaving the analysis of the privatization of this public service to be judged on the merits by the Court’s plenary. “Furthermore, it will be up to the Municipal Administration to take the measures it deems appropriate to comply with the injunction, maintaining or not the concession contracts, and under what terms”, pointed out Dino.
To the STF, the party stated that the privatization of these services has led to “unrestrained commercial exploitation” by concessionary companies “in the worst moments of the lives of people who lose their loved ones”. “Extortionate prices highlight what has been the ordeal for those who need to bury a family member or a friend, especially for the poorest, who in practice do not have access to services intended for low-income people,” he claimed.
In the decision, Dino argued that the exploration of this activity must comply with the constitutional parameters of the public service legal regime with regard to user rights, tariff policy and the obligation to maintain adequate public service.
“Despite the fact that funeral, cemetery and cremation services are currently being provided through concessions to the private sector, they still maintain their public character and, therefore, are linked to the fundamental precepts outlined above”, wrote the minister, for whom the death of a Brazilian cannot be accompanied by “commercial exploitation of an apparently abusive nature”.
The concession of funeral homes to the private sector was the reason for accusations from other candidates for mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB), who claim that the service was improved.
In a statement, the City of São Paulo said it understands that the measure approved by the STF minister is a setback to the actions adopted by the administration to serve the poorest. “The STF’s decision eliminates, for example, the 25% discount on social funerals guaranteed by the new model,” he said. “We therefore viewed with concern a decision that, in reality, causes the loss of benefits. It is also worth highlighting that the action was based on reports already contested by the City Hall after publication of misleading or incomparable values”, he adds.
The city hall says it regrets, finally, “the political use by parties (Communist Party of Brazil) that try to cause a setback in a concession that has directly benefited the population, especially the most vulnerable families”.
This content was originally published in Understand the STF order that orders SP City Hall to return to old prices in cemeteries on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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