Opposition creates front in defense of Banrisul.
Led by PT (Workers' Party) deputy Zé Nunes, parliamentarians from both the government's base and the opposition to José Ivo Sartori's administration launched the Parliamentary Front in Defense of a Public Banrisul; the benches of PT, PSOL, PCdoB, PDT, PTB, even the governor's own party, PMDB, expressed their opposition to the privatization of the Bank of the State of Rio Grande do Sul; the possibility was raised by the federal government, through the president of the Central Bank, as part of the conditions of the Fiscal Recovery Plan; after having several points vetoed by the Chamber in the first vote, in December, the new plan was filed in Congress.
Fernanda Canofre, On the 21 - Led by PT deputy Zé Nunes, parliamentarians from the base and opposition to the government of José Ivo Sartori launched this Tuesday (21), the Parliamentary Front in Defense of a Public Banrisul. The benches of PT, PSol, PC do B, PDT, PTB, even the governor's party, PMDB, expressed themselves against the privatization of the State Bank of Rio Grande do Sul. The hypothesis was raised by the federal government, through the president of the Central Bank, as part of the conditions of the Fiscal Recovery Plan. After having several points vetoed by the Chamber in the first vote, in December, the new plan was filed in Congress this Tuesday.
Despite the government denying that the privatization of Banrisul is in its plans, in recent weeks the possibility has gained traction in the national press. “Newspapers are reporting that the process of negotiating the state's debt with the federal government is conditioning the agreement on the privatization of Banrisul. Although government representatives do not publicly confirm this, we all know the risk exists. After all, the debate is in the media, it's public, and it wasn't initiated by the left. This information was released after a meeting between representatives of the state government and the federal government,” declared Zé Nunes, speaking from the podium.
In addition to him, deputies from 6 parties also asked to speak. Deputies Ciro Simoni (PDT), Ronaldo Santini (PTB) and Gilberto Capoani (PMDB) used their time to affirm that their caucuses were united against the privatization of the bank. “Contrary to what the state government says, Banrisul has always been targeted for privatization, as has Corsan (Companhia Riograndense de Saneamento), although this is not admitted (…) Long before they were targeted by the federal government, this intention already existed,” stated Deputy Pedro Ruas (PSol).
Deputies from the government's base, however, denied any possibility that the privatization process would move forward. Speaking from the podium, Deputy Frederico Antunes (PP) said that "Banrisul is not up for sale unless the governor says it is." "We told the governor that we needed this to be definitively clarified, and it was. The governor said that Banrisul is not among the assets that can be put up for sale with the Union. And this has not been a reason for the Union to demand it to this day," he declared to journalists after the session, before adding: "We are talking about a ghost, for now. Maybe tomorrow…". The deputy declined to answer whether his party already has a position on the matter.
On the other hand, the position of parliamentarians from the governor's own party seems definitive and has already been expressed to the Piratini Palace (the governor's office). "To avoid any kind of sensitivity or political Manichaeism, the PMDB caucus has taken a firm stance, gone to the governor, and publicized the caucus's decision to be absolutely opposed to the privatization of Banrisul. This is absolutely categorical," explained Deputy Tiago Simon.
According to Simon, there was never any "political will" on the part of the Sartori government to privatize Banrisul. The PMDB member says that proof of this is the fact that the bank's name did not appear alongside CEEE (Companhia Estadual de Energia Elétrica), Sulgás, and CRM (Companhia Riograndense de Mineração) in the proposed constitutional amendment presented by the government, which requested the removal of the mandatory plebiscite for privatizations.
“What happened was a statement from the federal government during the process of building the Fiscal Recovery Plan. Based on these speculations, considering the strategic importance, which is unanimously agreed upon within the government and within the PMDB party, regarding the role that Banrisul plays in the economy—being the main development bank in Rio Grande do Sul, and also profitable—at no point did the government consider privatization,” assures Simon.
Deputy Pedro Pereira (PSDB) called Zé Nunes an "opportunist" for proposing a front to discuss something that shouldn't happen. Pereira guaranteed that "as long as the PSDB exists in Rio Grande do Sul, Banrisul will never be privatized." Those watching the session in the galleries laughed. Since the government of Yeda Crusius, from the same party as Pereira, Banrisul has been a publicly traded company – 43% of the shares are held by private capital and the remainder by the state government, the majority shareholder.
The action yielded R$ 1,2 billion to public coffers at the time. Last year, Banrisul recorded a profit of R$ 659 million, with net assets valued at R$ 6,4 billion. According to data presented by the Front, the state bank currently has 11.214 employees, 536 branches, and 206 service points throughout the state. Deputy Capoani (PMDB), a former director of Banrisul, defended in the Plenary the importance of the bank for small rural producers and as an incentive for the housing sector. He was the 21st deputy to sign his support for the Defense Front.
The opening up of the Yeda government was not Banrisul's first gesture towards private initiative. During Antônio Britto's (PMDB) administration, after the signing of a debt renegotiation agreement with the federal government, the idea was to proceed with the privatization of the state bank. When Britto was defeated at the polls by the PT candidate Olívio Dutra, the project did not continue. "We interrupted an accelerated process of privatization of public assets here in Rio Grande do Sul; the state governor was competing with the president of the Republic to see who was more pro-privatization," said the former governor, who was present at the launch of the Front in Defense of Banrisul.
Olívio, a former banker and former president of the Bank Workers' Union, recalls that, initially, the payment of the state's debt to the Union compromised 9% of Rio Grande do Sul's net revenue. In the first year of his government, the percentage jumped to 13%. “The Union also stipulated that if we didn't sell Banrisul, not only would it not return to 9%, but it would go to 17%. We insisted that we would not sell Banrisul and that we would fight to prevent it from jumping to 13%. It wasn't an easy fight. The majority of the Legislative Assembly, the majority of the Rio Grande delegation in Congress, naturally, only wanted to complicate the life of the government that was elected against the privatization project.”
Today, Banrisul is one of the five remaining state-owned public banks, along with Banco de Brasília (BRB, district bank), Banco do Estado de Sergipe (Banese), Banco do Estado do Espírito Santo (Banestes), and Banco do Estado do Pará (Banpará). In 96 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul, Banrisul branches are the only available bank.
According to Olívio, the fact that the Temer government's fiscal recovery plan mentions the sale of assets, including those in the financial sector, shows that Banrisul could still be included in a deal. “The governor may be saying one thing and the federal government another. So, the people of Rio Grande do Sul must be here, from the bottom up, asserting that the state government cannot falter in this position. The bank is indeed in the crosshairs of privatization, and it's not the first time,” he stated.
Despite denials from members of the government's base, Representative Zé Nunes also says he remains certain about the Sartori administration's intention to submit the proposal at some point. According to him, the Executive branch pressured representatives not to sign off on supporting the Front.
“There is no doubt that Banrisul is a priority target for possible privatization,” he declared to Sul21. “A few days ago, the government leader made a statement affirming that the privatization of CEEE, Sulgás, and CRM would not be sufficient to meet the demands of the federal government. The state government is inclined to accept and pursue this form of debt negotiation.”
Although the current agenda mentions "privatization," Nunes explains that his main concern is another: federalization. He believes there is also the possibility that the state government will no longer talk about privatization, but will instead hand over the state bank to the federal government – which, in turn, could then privatize it as it sees fit, without the occupant of the Piratini Palace having any responsibility for it.
“Not long ago we were having the same discussion about CRM, and the government categorically stated, with the same representatives here in Parliament, that CRM would not be subject to privatization, that it was impossible. CRM is included in the project to remove the plebiscite and give the government the possibility of privatizing it,” analyzes the PT deputy. “The government didn't want to go directly to Banrisul. It launched 3 companies first, but obviously, depending on the success of its purpose, Banrisul would be in the plans later on.”