Juiz de Fora: Anniversary at a difficult time.
Juiz de Fora, after more than a century and a half of existence, is one of the municipalities most remembered by all Minas Gerais residents for its industry, pioneering spirit, and, more recently, for its academic environment full of universities; The current economic climate presents the population and the Juiz de Fora City Hall (PJF) with a crossroads; On the one hand, the city is expected to receive considerable investments in the economic field, such as the arrival of the M. Dias Branco pasta and biscuit factory, which will invest approximately R$ 305 million in the municipality and generate 600 direct jobs; on the other hand, fundamental works for improving the quality of life of the population are delayed, such as the Regional Hospital in the São Dimas neighborhood, North Zone.
Setting the Agenda for Minas Gerais - One hundred and sixty-five years. This is the age that the main city of the Zona da Mata region of Minas Gerais, one of the most important in the state, reaches today. Juiz de Fora, after more than a century and a half of existence, is one of the municipalities most remembered by all Minas Gerais residents for its industry, pioneering spirit, and, more recently, for its academic environment full of universities. However, the recovery of its industrial economic vocation, lost in recent decades, and the improvement of services provided to the population are still challenges for the public administration. At the same time, new ventures are approaching the municipality, allowing the residents of Juiz de Fora to look to the future with hope.
The current economic climate presents the population and the Juiz de Fora City Hall (PJF) with a dilemma. On the one hand, the city is set to receive considerable economic investments, such as the arrival of the M. Dias Branco pasta and biscuit factory, which will invest approximately R$ 305 million in the municipality and generate 600 direct jobs. On the other hand, fundamental projects aimed at improving the population's quality of life are behind schedule, such as the Regional Hospital in the São Dimas neighborhood, in the northern part of the city.
The arrival of new businesses is, in fact, good news. M. Dias Branco, owner of well-known food brands such as Adria, Estrela, and Isabela, alone anticipates investments of around R$ 305 million within five years, with the municipality providing tax incentives to help the company acquire the land where it will be located (near the BR-040 highway) and offering tax breaks in return. The expectation of generating 600 direct jobs places the arrival of the pasta and biscuit factory among the largest investments in the city's history, the largest in 20 years, second only to the arrival of the Mercedes-Benz plant in 1996.
“We know that Juiz de Fora is a well-managed city, with a strategic location and logistical advantages, as well as a qualified workforce and good universities, which is what any private company looks for. It is one of the best options for investment in Brazil,” stated Francisco Ives Dias Branco, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company, in a press release. At the time of the investment announcement, Mayor Bruno Siqueira (PMDB) even said that “the interest of a company like M Dias Branco in our city” gives the Juiz de Fora City Hall (PJF) “pride and the certainty of being on the right track.”
Other financial contributions received by the municipality include the Havan department store, which arrived in Juiz de Fora on May 2nd, creating over 200 jobs and representing an estimated investment of R$ 30 million, occupying a 6.400 m2 store on Avenida Brasil, in the São Dimas neighborhood, North Zone. There is also anticipation for the opening of the Jardim Norte shopping mall, next to Havan, which already has more than 50% of its construction completed and whose inauguration is scheduled for December of this year. According to its press office, the project will generate 1.500 direct jobs in eight megastores and 160 satellite stores, in addition to a food court, movie theaters, and a supermarket.
While the municipality's economy continues to grow despite the economic crisis affecting the country, the services provided by the public sector to the population remain deficient. Among the main shortcomings are the delay in completing the Regional Hospital, whose construction has been dragging on since 2010, and the slow progress of the bidding process for urban public transportation.
The bidding process for the implementation of a new public transportation model, one of the responses from the Juiz de Fora City Hall (PJF) to the protests that took to the city streets demanding better services in 2013, has been promised since the administration of Custódio Mattos (PSDB, 2008-2012) and has encountered several obstacles to its adoption. The main one was the interruption, by the Court of Auditors of the State of Minas Gerais (TCE-MG), of the bidding process for a company that would be responsible for the technical study for the reformulation of public transportation. At the time, in 2009, the TCE suspected irregularities in the process, paralyzing it until 2013, when it was released.
Since then, the company responsible for the study was chosen and delivered to the PJF (Juiz de Fora City Hall) earlier this year. On August 11th, at 9:30 AM, the City Hall will hold a bidding process for new companies to integrate the urban public transportation system of Juiz de Fora. "The service provision will be divided into three operational areas with two lots to be operated by two companies in the city, each of which will use approximately 300 vehicles to meet the initial demand," stated the text published in the Government Acts.
Another urgent demand of the city, but whose main construction project is not keeping pace with the needs of the population, is in healthcare. The Zona da Mata Regional Hospital is a campaign promise of former mayor Custódio Mattos, who at the time paraded through Juiz de Fora with Aécio Neves on a TV program, guaranteeing state government funding to solve Juiz de Fora's traffic problems and build a hospital in the North Zone.
The project, begun in 2010, is still not finished. Currently, only the SAMU Regional unit operates there, managed by the Cisdeste consortium, which is responsible for the Emergency and Urgency Network of the Southeast Macroregion, serving the Zona da Mata region and integrating hospitals in the area with different specialties. However, the SAMU headquarters operates surrounded by the still-unbuilt structure of the hospital promised by the previous state administration.
This year, the Fernando Pimentel (PT) administration, which began in 2015, promised to deliver the hospitals starting in June. Last Monday (25), during the Minas Gerais Health Meeting, the governor said that he will “finish the regional hospitals that are unfinished”. “We are finishing paying the overdue invoices and now we will give the order to resume the works on the regional hospitals.” There are 12 regional hospitals, of which only one is completed: the one in Uberlândia, in the Triângulo Mineiro region. Another 11 regions, including Zona da Mata, are waiting for the works to be completed.
The work is being carried out through an agreement with the City Hall, which is responsible for the administration, including bidding processes and contracting. The State Government makes the transfers and stated to Pautando Minas, in a note, that it has not interrupted the allocation of resources. Today, the hospital is 66% complete, and the remainder will be finished by the second half of 2016. "The Government of Minas Gerais is finalizing the payment of invoices overdue by the previous administration and resuming the works on the regional hospitals," the state administration informed in a note.