Cabral may declare Delta ineligible.

247 - The governor of Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cabral (PMDB), may have to make one of the most difficult decisions of his administration: declaring the construction company Delta ineligible. If this happens, the company will be barred from participating in state tenders for five years. Investigations by state tax oversight bodies could also suspend payments on ongoing contracts. Major works under the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC), carried out by the construction company, are currently underway in the state. Examples include the renovation of the Maracanã stadium and a section of the Metropolitan Ring Road, a road whose construction is divided into stages; the first section, 73 km long, will connect the highways... Washington Luis and Rio-Santos, executed in cooperation between the Government of the state of Rio and the National Department of Transport Infrastructure (DNIT), of the Ministry of Transport.

This week the governor ordered a commission to evaluate the contracts with Delta in the state. This is the same commission created by the government to investigate and review contracts with medical service providers denounced by the Sunday program Fantástico, on Rede Globo, in March of this year.

Regis Fichtner's Chief of Staff is leading the commission that will investigate the contracts and the case in question. He told... BOL website Delta will be notified soon and will have ten days to defend itself "regarding the possible declaration of ineligibility."

The investigation was triggered by a recording published on journalist Mino Pedrosa's website, in which the owner of Delta, Fernando Cavendish, says that it is possible to win public contracts by bribing politicians.

There's a lot at stake. Municipal elections, major international events that will take place in the capital until 2016; the influence of the PMDB party in the federal government, the government's base, and a long-standing friendship. Cabral and Cavendish have been friends for a long time. But the scandal could shake their friendship, depending on Cabral's actions. The owner of Delta exonerated the governor of Rio from any wrongdoing in his relationship with the company, in... interview granted to Folha de S. Paulo journalist, Mônica Bergamo, published this Monday (19). Read below an excerpt from the interview in which Cavendish talks about Cabral and Rio de Janeiro.

How did Delta manage to secure so many projects under the PAC (Growth Acceleration Program)?

But that's a dirty trick. When the PAC (Growth Acceleration Program) was proposed, they announced R$ 250 billion in investments over four years. When they did a survey on a website, it indicated that Delta was leading the PAC. We had earned around R$ 400 million in 2009. But that was in investments from the ministries. I became the leader of the PAC.

Do you know how much the Santo Antonio, Belo Monte, and Jirau hydroelectric dams will cost? Santo Antonio alone equals ten years of Delta's revenue. How can I, with my meager accounting of 'hundreds' of small contracts that, added together, amount to R$ 800 million, lead the PAC (Growth Acceleration Program)? I'm leading absolutely nothing. But it sounds good, when it's time to criticize the PT (Workers' Party), to say that the PAC leader is full of problems. Forget it. I must be tenth in the PAC ranking.

You are a friend of the governor of Rio, Sergio Cabral. And, during his administration, you won R$ 1,4 billion in contracts.

It's not fair to say that, it's not decent. I grew much more in the Rio government before he took office. In 2001, 80% of Delta's portfolio belonged to the State of Rio.

I met Sergio Cabral ten years ago, through our wives. I admire him as a governor, friend, father, son, brother. He's a hell of a guy. In the helicopter accident where the people I love most died [his wife and son, in 2011], I was with him [Cavendish and Cabral were going to a party in Bahia]. Okay. But I didn't start being with him after he became governor. We were the biggest construction company in Rio before Cabral's government, with Cesar Maia and Garotinho. I was called the king of Rio. Today the biggest is Odebrecht.

Did Delta grow in Rio?

When I took over Delta in 1995, moving the company from Recife, where it was founded, to Rio, we had 200 employees. DNER was practically our only client. Our first projects were with the Rio city government, during Cesar Maia's administration.

He opened up the market. He didn't demand the more restrictive technical qualifications that larger companies required. For us, it was great. We knew how to work with low costs, productivity, and have a very competitive price. There's only one way, at least for Delta, which was a new company, to win bids: competing on price.

This was said by Cesar Maia's son [Rodrigo Maia, from DEM]: "Thanks to Delta, we had this budget saving." In all the areas in which we operate, Delta is the one that offers the lowest price.

I'm not more loved because of it, no. I'm more hated. This level of aggression has always gone against the grain of market culture.

Many people are mistaken; they say I'm a very politically astute guy. That's a lie! Am I a great strategist, a professional lobbyist? That's a lie.

From which states do your largest revenues come?

From Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, where we carry out housing development and urbanization projects. We also expanded the Marginal Tietê highway.

Does the scandal harm business?

I'm going to break.

Is it?

I'm going to break down. When the media comes at me with this intensity, there's an immediate reaction from regulatory bodies. Now I've become a leper, right? Now I'm nothing but a criminal.

The client [government], which is a political client, opens internal investigations to demonstrate impartiality. It suspends payments.

A terrible atmosphere is being created in the company. The banks are going to suspend all our credit lines. Then the Internal Revenue Service will come. Everyone needs to show that the company needs to be audited at all levels. I have no cash. If I don't get paid before my money runs out, I'm bankrupt.