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Jornal Folha de S. Paulo suggests a radical change: the privatization of the largest Brazilian state-owned companies. Can Petrobras, Caixa Econômica Federal and Banco do Brasil be sold? The editorial challenges old concepts and raises a crucial question for the country's economic future. Will the Lula government follow this path?
In a scenario where state-owned companies still play significant roles in the Brazilian economy, a suggestion emerges that challenges old concepts and raises intense debates.
O Folha de S. Paulo editorial raises a provocative question: Brazil should privatize emblematic companies such as Petrobras, CEF e Bank of Brazil?
The proposal, which might have seemed unthinkable in past decades, if not for previous governments, now emerges as a crucial topic of discussion for the country's economic future.
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According to the editorial, the privatization program that Brazil implemented over more than three decades achieved break down taboos and prejudices, facing the catastrophic predictions that have emerged over time.
In the 1980s, the country was forced to reform the State, which was inefficient and concentrated income. It seemed impossible, at that time, to consider the sale of giants such as Embraer, Vale, the telephone and electricity sectors, in addition to the vast network of state banks.
The trajectory of privatizations in Brazil
According to Folha, all these sales were carried out with great success, defying the logic that such activities and public services were “at the mercy of the inefficiency of public management and the political convenience of current governments.” Today, the idea that these areas could remain under state control seems almost inconceivable, according to the editorial.
The left-wing government itself, which has historically opposed the sale of companies, “recognized the advantages of the concession of roads, railways, ports and airports,” according to the editorial.
Promises of renationalization were left aside, and even resistance in society began to dissipate. A Datafolha survey last year showed that opinions in favor of privatizations already carried out or in progress outweigh those against.
The current scenario of state-owned companies in Brazil
Still, the editorial highlights that 123 companies still remain under direct or indirect control of the National Treasury, It is difficult to justify this condition, except perhaps in the case of Embrapa, which carries out agricultural research in the public interest.
Among these state-owned companies, three giants – Petrobras, Banco do Brasil and Caixa Econômica Federal – stand out, bringing together 75 subsidiaries in Brazil and abroad, representing almost two thirds of the universe of federal state-owned companies.
Public interest or political interests?
They “the apparatus is expensively maintained under the command of the State, mainly by political and union interests,” according to Folha de S. Paulo.
The publication argues that nationalist and strategic pretexts are often invoked to justify maintaining state control, but in reality, these arguments serve to preserve “the power to allocate positions, distribute favors and finance projects with dubious returns, not to mention honesty.”
Petrobras and Caixa, in particular, are frequently mentioned in news about political rigging and mismanagement. Despite recent legislative adjustments that brought some improvement in governance, these companies continue “under siege from reactionary and interventionist forces on the left and right, subject to setbacks,” according to the editorial.
The future of privatization in Brazil
For Folha de S. Paulo, the privatization of these state-owned giants must be done carefully, with models that encourage competition and regulation that protects consumers’ interests.
The publication highlights that there is still a long way to go, which involves both convincing the population and taking advantage of the knowledge acquired over the years.
“There is convincing work to be done and a long process of knowledge to be taken advantage of,” concludes the editorial, suggesting that the Lula government should seriously consider this proposal as part of its economic agenda.
The big question: is Brazil ready to privatize its largest state-owned companies?
The Folha de S. Paulo editorial raises a provocative question that deserves an in-depth debate: is Brazil prepared to privatize its largest state-owned companies? What would be the impact of this on the economy and the lives of Brazilians? Leave your opinion in the comments!
*123 companies heavily funded by the State” someone at Folha doesn’t know how to research or sold this editorial. Real data: Brazilian state-owned companies had combined profits of R$197 billion in 2023, of which R$49 billion went to the Union in the form of dividends and shares. Petrobras, BB and Caixa were responsible for R$170 billion of this profit, and it is precisely on these three that the
@leaf
, in its cover editorial, exposes the privatizing greed in this Sunday's shameless editorial.
Given these figures, to say that all state-owned companies would be “costly to maintain” by the State is a blatant lie. To claim that the privatizations carried out by neoliberal governments were “successful” in the face of the disasters with the energy service in São Paulo or scandals such as the underbilling of Vale and Eletrobrás is to disregard common sense.
Folha's surrender shows that the newspaper is at the service of powerful interests, but not of Brazil
I used Gleisi Hoffmann's answer because I consider it simple, direct and assertive. Anyone who wants to prove it can just look at the dividends paid, but it is clear that businessmen want the 36 billion paid to the government in the form of dividends to go into their own little pockets. They want more and more. Editorial bought. Biased media. A disgrace.
Representatives of a minority of the Brazilian people, a minority that only usurps our resources and doesn't care about the nation, the newspaper should be closed because it does not represent serious and impartial journalism.