Government can suspend RS debt for up to 2 years, but under guarantees
The minister Fernando Haddadfrom the Treasury, must reach an agreement with the governor of Rio Grande do Sul Eduardo Leite (PSDB-RS), this Monday (13), so that the payment of the state’s billion-dollar debt with the Union is suspended for up to two years.
This is one of the points of the agreement that will be discussed in the afternoon during a virtual meeting between Leite and Haddad to address the situation in Rio Grande do Sul, which is facing a serious public calamity crisis due to the floods last week and which will continue this Monday. (13). There is no confirmed time yet, but the expectation is that it will take place in the middle to late afternoon.
Until early this morning, it was expected that Leite would travel to Brasília to participate in the meeting in person. However, at around 7:30 am, he informed the press that he would no longer travel to the capital due to the expected worsening of the situation in the state.
Rio Grande do Sul has a debt of around R$90 billion and was discussing an agreement with the government to reduce interest on payments. With last week’s disaster, Haddad will give the state a different treatment.
However, the government will require guarantees from Leite so that the money that would be used to pay the installments for these 18 to 24 months will be applied to state reconstruction actions. It is at least R$8 billion according to the RS State Finance Department.
Preliminary data from the secretariat indicate that the economy of Rio Grande do Sul may have suffered a 20% drop due to the floods.
Despite the expectation of suspending payments for up to two years, deputy governor Gabriel Souza (MDB) asked that the period be until the end of 2026, at least.
“To rebuild the state we need resources from the state itself. And today, the state’s resources are absorbed by debts incurred over decades in the past, including the debt with the Union. (…) We really need there to be some slack in the payment with the Union at least until the end of this term, as we have to plan the works”, he pointed out in an interview with GloboNews.
It was expected that Leite would also have a meeting with the president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), which was not confirmed by Secom in the official agenda until 7:20 am. The president meets with Haddad and minister Rui Costa, from the Civil House, at 9 am, to discuss the situation in Rio Grande do Sul.
There is also the expectation of a virtual meeting between Leite and Minister Silvio Costa Filho, of Ports and Airports, to draw up an air plan to meet the demand at Porto Alegre International Airport, which is completely flooded and inoperative at least until the end of the year. end of the month.
The agreement, if completed, should also be announced later this afternoon by the government. And, for Tuesday (14), another announcement of support measures aimed at the population of Rio Grande do Sul is planned.
The weekend was rainy in the state and a A new record flood is forecast for Lake Guaíba – which borders Porto Alegre and part of the metropolitan region – between this Monday (13) and Tuesday (14), even surpassing last week’s peak of 5.30 meters. The projection by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) points to the possibility of the level reaching 5.50 meters.
According to the most recent bulletin from the Civil Defense of Rio Grande do Sul, released on Sunday night (12), the state has 618 thousand homeless people and 447 municipalities affected.
The rains followed by floods killed 145 people and there are still 132 missing. 806 were injured. In total, 2.1 million people were affected. Of these, 81.2 thousand are in public shelters and 538.7 thousand in relatives’ homes.
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