Without Arialdo Pinho, the Government debates the Aquarium in the Legislative Assembly.
This afternoon (04), at the Legislative Assembly, it should be quite busy, with the meeting of the Industry, Commerce, and Tourism Committee to discuss the Ceará Aquarium. The topic has dominated the opposition's debates since the current Secretary of Tourism, Arialdo Pinho, suspended the contract with the company responsible for the equipment for the project. The secretary's presence has been demanded daily by the opposition, but today the deputy secretary, Denise Carrá, will be at the committee. The government leader, Evandro Leitão, justifies that explanations on the subject can be given by an assistant or a technician, not necessarily by the secretary.
Ceara 247 - The Industry, Commerce, Tourism and Services Committee (CICTS) of the Legislative Assembly will hold a debate on the Ceará Aquarium this Wednesday (March 4th) at 3 pm in the Technical Committees Complex. The initiative comes from the Committee's president, Deputy Bruno Gonçalves (PEN). Confirmed to present the information to the deputies are the State Secretary of Infrastructure, André Facó, the State Secretary of Finance, Mauro Filho, and the Deputy Secretary of the State Tourism Secretariat, Denise Carrá. The head of the Tourism Secretariat, Arialdo Pinho, is currently traveling abroad to participate in business fairs. The committee members are Deputies Bruno Gonçalves (president), Gony Arruda, Roberto Mesquita, Walter Cavalcante, and Augusta Brito (full members). The alternate members are Naumi Amorim, Bethrose, Leonardo Pinheiro, Carlos Felipe, and Audic Mota.
The meeting takes place at a time when the Government, although holding a large formal majority, has suffered defeats in the Legislative Assembly, with its base showing itself to be timid and failing to adequately respond to the opposition's attacks. The sessions have been lively and with significant participation from parliamentarians who form the opposition bloc, especially newcomers like Renato Roseno (PSOL) and Capitão Wagner (PR), who end up strengthening the discussion, which is always fueled by more experienced parliamentarians such as Heitor Ferrer (PDT) and Roberto Mesquita (PV).
Regarding the construction of the Ceará Aquarium, which was halted in February, the government's base has done little. Deputy Elmano de Freitas (PT) explains that it is still a minority within the government's base that is actively involved, but that this specific issue relates to the previous administration and not to Governor Camilo Santana.
Regarding the government's base's actions, Elmano says that some parliamentarians within the base are aware of certain demands and form a defense, while others want to gain more knowledge to know what position to take. "In the case of the government's base, I don't have the stance, as we've seen at other times in the Assembly, that if the opposition criticizes, the base has to counter-argue. We have a situation where the base is capable of dialoguing with the opposition, and I think this marks a new moment in the House, where things shouldn't be so siloed, where those who are part of the government's base have to vote and approve everything," he said.
Regarding the Aquarium case, the government leader in the Assembly, Evandro Leitão (PDT), informed Ceará 247 that the State Court of Auditors and the State and Federal Public Prosecutor's Offices have already examined the project, contracts, and works, but no irregularities have been proven. "I don't see any new element that justifies establishing a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission," he said, referring to the request the opposition has been making to establish the Commission, which has eight signatures, an insufficient number to be viable.
Regarding Secretary Arialdo Pinho's appearance before the Assembly, the PDT member also stated that he supports a technical explanation of the matter, answering questions, "and providing objective information about the project, regardless of whether this is done by the head of the department, an assistant, or a technician. The technical committees are the appropriate forum for this type of debate."