Mayors from Sergipe march to Brasília for more resources.

Sergipe 247 – The presidents of the mayors' associations of the Central-South Region (Amurces) and Barra do Cotinguiba and Vale do Japaratuba (Ambarco) are participating in the XVI March to Brasília in Defense of Municipalities. Following the line of the National Confederation of Municipalities (CNM), Amurces and Ambarco "understand that an imbalance persists in federal relations, which could result in the strangulation of public policies in cities." In a text sent to the press, the two entities affirm that "with the demonstrations taking to the streets of the country, the demands of the people only increase, as do the demands and responsibilities of the municipalities."

“The only reason the transfer of resources doesn't increase is because they remain persistently concentrated at the federal level. This is a historical and chronic problem faced by Brazilian mayors, and those in Sergipe as well. And we, as legal representatives of the Associations, are going to Brasília, not just to show our support or participate, but to demand solutions and actions that meet the needs and benefit our leaders,” says Fábio Henrique (PDT), president of Ambarco and mayor of Nossa Senhora do Socorro.

The president of Amurces, Antônio da Fonseca Dória (PSB), says that the march to Brasília is a way to draw the attention of public opinion and the political class to the situation of "weakening" of the municipalities. "We have to draw people's attention, make noise, because public opinion needs to be aware of how unequal and unfair this federal system is," he emphasizes.

Around 4 people, including mayors, deputy mayors and councilors, are expected to participate in the event, which began this Monday (8). Health, Social Security and Education are among the issues to be discussed at the march, whose theme this year is "The Federal Imbalance and the Crisis in Municipalities". The president of the National Confederation of Municipalities (CNM), Paulo Ziulkoski, says that the mayors will demand from the federal government an adjustment of the transfers for social programs that were taken over by the municipalities. “The municipalities have taken on many responsibilities in the social area when they took over these programs. They have not been adjusted sufficiently to ensure that this attention to the citizen can be fulfilled. One of the demands is to recover some of the value of these programs,” said Ziulkoski.

The president of the Federation of Municipalities of the State of Sergipe (Fames) and mayor of Monte Alegre, Antônio Rodrigues, participated in the march activities this Monday (8) and took the opportunity to call on the mayors who are not yet in the federal capital to join the fight. According to him, the expectation is that more than 50 of the 75 Sergipe administrators will be present at the March.

“This is an important moment for all Brazilian municipalities. It is time to highlight the difficulties that city halls have been facing regarding the drop in the Municipal Participation Fund (FPM), the crisis in Health and Education, in addition to the drought situation in the Northeast. Being a manager lately has been a very difficult task. We have much higher expenses than the Government offers us as a limit. In other words, we spend more than we can afford and, to make matters worse, we cannot achieve the ideal service because of the high demand. It is necessary for everyone to fight for a common good, for the same ideal, because only with a significant number of participants will we be able to draw attention to the problem,” he emphasized.

The mayor of Monte Alegre and the other presidents of the federations, accompanied by Paulo Ziulkoski, went to the Palácio do Planalto (Presidential Palace) for a meeting with the Minister of the Secretariat of Institutional Relations, Ideli Salvatti. The purpose was to discuss the federal government's participation in the event. During the meeting, the president of Fames (Federation of Municipalities of Sergipe) highlighted to the minister the difficulties faced by the municipalities of Sergipe due to the financial recession and the decrease in the FPM (Municipal Participation Fund), in addition to the problems caused by the drought, which is already affecting several cities in the state of Sergipe. "I want to know what would be possible to do immediately to solve this whole situation we are experiencing. We want urgent answers," he declared.

Salvatti praised Sergipe's participation and engagement in the meetings. “Over the years, Sergipe has had a relationship of shared responsibilities and progress. We don't have anything to say now about the positive results the March may bring, but I believe that every March has resulted in progress. At no point has there been regression. This is important because we have built a positive relationship, one of true evolution. Another point I want to emphasize is that some of the things that will be announced are of an emergency nature, and others are permanent. Ideally, regarding the emergency measures, we should explore the possibility of reaching a consensus perhaps next year. This will be discussed with President Dilma,” stated the minister.

Also on the priority agenda of the event are items such as the 2% increase in the percentage of the Municipal Participation Fund (FPM) and the expansion of the list of services taxed by the Tax on Services (ISS), under the jurisdiction of the municipalities and the Federal District. Also on the agenda is the approval of bills establishing the obligation of the Union to apply a minimum of 10% of gross revenue to health actions and services and the reconciliation of social security expenses between the Union and the municipalities. President Dilma Rousseff (PT) will participate in the event this Wednesday (10).

With information from Agência Brasil and press offices of the entities.