Temer postpones privatization announcement to avoid controversy before impeachment.
The interim president decided to postpone the announcement of which state-owned companies will be privatized or dissolved during his administration until after the impeachment vote; the goal is to avoid dividing the spotlight with the decision on the definitive removal of President Dilma and to prevent friction with senators who may have an interest in some of the companies that are to be sold or dissolved.
247 - Interim President Michel Temer has decided to postpone the announcement of which state-owned companies will be privatized during his administration until after the impeachment vote against President-elect Dilma Rousseff. Analysts point out that the postponement was made to avoid dividing the spotlight with the vote on Dilma's removal, and to prevent friction with senators who may have an interest in some of the companies that are to be sold or dissolved.
Initially, the announcement was scheduled for the 25th, the date of the impeachment vote session. The change came after warnings that announcing it on the same date could result in unnecessary strain, as all attention will be focused on the Senate.
Among the state-owned companies on the privatization list is Hemobras, created in 2004 during the administration of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, which the interim government has labeled as "a patronage system" and is under investigation in Operation Lava Jato.
Along these lines, the Planning and Logistics Company (EPL), created by President Dilma Rousseff in 2010 with the goal of developing the high-speed rail system, is also on the list of companies to be privatized.
The evaluation of state-owned companies that may be privatized or dissolved is the responsibility of the executive secretary of the Investment Partnerships Program (PPI), Moreira Franco, and the Minister of Planning, Dyogo Oliveira.
As soon as he announced his intention to implement a privatization process, Temer said that the initially planned date would not be affected by the impeachment vote.