In the Senate, mayors are calling for attention to be paid to the drought in the Northeast.

Alagoas247 - The president of the Senate, Renan Calheiros (PMDB-AL), received on Tuesday afternoon (14) a visit from the president of the National Confederation of Municipalities (CNM), Paulo Ziulkoski, and the president of the Association of Municipalities of Alagoas (AMA), Marcelo Beltrão. Representatives of associations of municipalities and mayors from the Northeast region also accompanied the visit.

Paulo Ziulkoski presented Renan with a booklet produced by the CNM (National Confederation of Municipalities), containing research on the reality of drought in the Northeast. Ziulkoski reported that the research was conducted in over a thousand municipalities across the nine states of the region. He advocated for more effective government coordination to implement preventative measures to combat drought and stated that the region also needs urgent and targeted measures, such as streamlining the process for municipalities to purchase water trucks.

"Announcing billions isn't enough. We need concrete measures," Ziulkoski urged.

The president of the CNM also announced that on July 9th, 10th, and 11th there will be a new march of mayors to Brasília and defended the Subcommittee on Municipal Affairs, within the scope of the Committee on Economic Affairs (CAE), as a measure to "fine-tune the relationship" between the Senate and the municipalities. The subcommittee is chaired by Senator Ana Amélia (PP-RS).

According to the president of AMA, Marcelo Beltrão, it is necessary to build an infrastructure capable of mitigating the effects of drought. He believes the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies should act as partners of the municipalities, bringing the most urgent demands to the Executive branch. Beltrão added that the resources allocated to drought relief programs need to be released urgently, as the drought in the Northeast has been very severe – considered the worst in the last 60 years.

"We hope that, with this mobilization, the suffering of the people of the Northeast will end," said Beltrão, who is the mayor of Jequiá da Praia (AL).

According to Senator Humberto Costa (PT-PE), the mayors' demands are "extremely fair." He recalled that the Senate "has weight" in the negotiation process between municipalities and the federal government and can "amplify" the mayors' requests. The senator indicated that there will be a meeting with the Minister of Institutional Relations, Ideli Salvatti, and the Minister of National Integration, Fernando Bezerra, to present the municipalities' list of demands.

"This pressure helps to make the government more aware," said Humberto.

The senator said that measures to combat the drought are necessary, but it is also necessary to provide more resources to recover the coffers of municipalities, which have been harmed by the drop in the Municipal Participation Fund (FPM). The senator acknowledged that the federal government has been working to mitigate the effects of the drought and stressed that the São Francisco River diversion project should begin to be delivered next year. Humberto also advocated for the forgiveness of debts owed by rural producers.

"I believe that small producers, in particular, could benefit from this pardon," he stated.

In response to the mayors' request for the Senate to negotiate a definitive solution for the debts of small farmers, Renan recalled that Congress had approved the renegotiation of debts of rural producers in the semi-arid region prior to 2001, but the matter was vetoed by the President of the Republic, Dilma Rousseff.

"The National Congress cannot fail to vote on this veto. Next week, we will hold a session of Congress to read the vetoes. I will ask the party leaders to ensure that this veto is voted on urgently," Renan promised.

According to Senator Benedito de Lira (PP-AL), more government support is needed to address the drought situation in the Northeast. He stated that it is necessary to go beyond government programs and establish state programs that enable people to live with drought. Regarding the creation of the Subcommittee on Municipal Affairs within the CAE (Committee on Economic Affairs), the senator expressed little optimism. He said that if there is government support, the committee will function, as the government holds "the key to the treasury."

"If you don't have [support], it's no use. It's just another tool for making noise and offering zero solutions," he stated.

Em pronunciation In the plenary session, Senator Lídice da Mata (PSB-BA) said she had noticed, during the meeting, the desperation of Brazilian mayors regarding the impoverishment of their municipalities. She stated that, although the Northeast and its economy are now better protected by the government's social policies, the drought was so devastating and its consequences so disastrous for the Northeast that the forecast for the region's economy to recover is ten years.

Senators Wellington Dias (PT-PI), Fernando Collor (PTB-AL), Inácio Arruda (PCdoB-CE), Gim Argello (PTB-DF) and Eduardo Amorim (PSC-SE) also participated in the meeting.

With Senate Agency