In Portugal, Lula vows not to sell Brazil’s state-run companies
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said today (Apr. 24) he will not privatize state-controlled companies, adding he plans to attract investment in new businesses in the country, especially in renewable energy. Lula is in Portugal and attended the Portugal–Brazil Business Forum in Matosinhos, near Porto, on Monday.
“We’re not selling state-run companies in Brazil. What we want to do is, we want to invite investors to join us in what we must build again,” he told ab audience of some 2 hundred Portuguese and Brazilian entrepreneurs.
He criticized the privatization of companies in previous administrations—like the sale of electricity giant Eletrobras—and argued a president needs to attract foreign capital by offering credibility as well as political, social, and legal stability. “We have disposed of our patrimony, and service quality has not improved,” he noted.
In addition to the 14 thousand halted projects to be resumed in the country, Lula mentioned, the government is focusing on the green hydrogen industry in the Northeast and establishing global partnerships to build wind, biomass, and solar energy plants.
“Brazil definitely wants to build partnership policies. We don’t want hegemonic relations with anyone. We’re a large country, but that doesn’t mean we have to aim for hegemony. We want to join efforts with Portuguese companies, and we want Portuguese investors to forge partnerships with our companies. We don’t want to sell what we already have; we want to build what remains to be built,” he added.
While discussing initiatives to draw investment, Lula once again criticized the current level of the Selic—Brazil’s benchmark interest rate—for making credit more expensive and hindering investment. The Selic is at its highest level since January 2017, when it was also at 13.75 percent a year. Last month, for the fifth time in a row, the Central Bank decided to keep it unchanged. The rate has been at this level since August last year.
Partnership
The forum is held at Portugal’s Engineering and Development Center, an institution that worked side by side with Brazil’s Aeronautical Company Embraer on the project for the KC-390 cargo plane, and collaborates with a number of organizations in technology and innovation in Brazil.
Embraer’s investments in Portugal, in the OGMA Aeronautical Industry of Portugal, and in two plants in the Évora Industrial Park add up to $500 million. A deal between Embraer and the Portuguese government outlines the delivery of five KC-390 aircraft to the Portuguese Air Force, one per year, starting in 2023, for €872 million.
“The Engineering and Development Center represents well the business cooperation we want to boost with today’s meeting, a partnership focused on the future, on technology, renewable energy, urban mobility, and health care,” said Lula.
The president also pointed out that Portugal is Brazil’s gateway to Europe, which is why partnerships should prove advantageous for both nations. “There’s nothing better for us than deciding to establish ties with Portugal and produce together. On the other hand, it’s easier for Portugal to export to other European countries,” he stated.
Trade between Brazil and Portugal totaled $5.26 billion in 2022, up 50.8 percent from the previous year. Portugal ranks 17th among the countries that import the most products from Brazil, and 45th on the list of nations that export the most to Brazil.
