Dilma: decision on veto is in the hands of Congress.

Pedro Peduzzi*
Reporter from Agência Brasil

Brasilia - President Dilma Rousseff reiterated today (6) that Brazil will have difficulties developing if it does not link the gains to be obtained from the exploitation of pre-salt oil to education. Regarding how the royalties will be divided, Dilma said that, after the vetoes she made, the issue became the responsibility of the National Congress.

"Allocating royalties to special participations for education is a condition for Brazil to move to the next level," said the president. "Let's dot the i's and cross the t's. It's impossible [to dissociate pre-salt oil revenues from investments in education]," she added.

According to her, it is through this strategy that the country will be able to break "the shackles of [lack of] quality" and invest in daycare centers, literacy at the right age, full-time secondary education, and adequate vocational training. "Full-time education is expensive," she said. "But if we don't do it, it won't be with land, buildings, and equipment [that we will give the country the conditions to develop]. It will be, above all, with teachers' salaries and training," the president emphasized in a meeting with mayors and governors at the Planalto Palace.

Asked about royalties, President Dilma preferred not to create controversy on the subject. "I vetoed it. Now it's in the hands of Congress," she said. The legislature is expected to vote today on the president's veto of the bill that redistributes oil royalties. At the end of last year, the president vetoed, in the bill approved by Congress, the redistribution of royalties for contracts already in effect. Dilma also mandated that 100% of the revenue from oil exploration be invested in education. The veto provoked disagreements between oil-producing and non-oil-producing states.

The governor of Sergipe, Marcelo Déda, defended dialogue as a solution to the impasse between oil-producing and non-oil-producing states, but argued that a new sharing rule is needed to ensure that access to resources enables investments in states and municipalities, without causing a loss of revenue for the producing states that included royalties in their tax collection.

"I have always advocated that we find an agreement capable of quickly making available a greater amount of royalties from the federation as a whole, while also preserving contracts and laws, and not harming the producing states," said Déda.

The governor of São Paulo, Geraldo Alckmin, emphasized that the issue is part of the political debate. "We believe that the National Congress will make the best decision. We will defend the position of maintaining the veto," he said.

* Danilo Macedo and Luciene Cruz collaborated on this project.

Edited by: Carolina Pimentel