Secretary of Santa Catarina praises Finance, but talks about seeking a middle ground with the federal government

Despite having been well received by the federative units, the federal government’s proposal to renegotiate the states’ debts presented this Tuesday, 26th, by the Ministry of Finance, is still seen as an “initial draft”, and secretaries and governors intend to seek a “middle ground” between what was presented by the Lula government and its demands. The assessment was made by the Secretary of Finance of Santa Catarina, Cleverson Siewert, in conversation with the Political Broadcast.

“The government opens an important line of dialogue”, he said, praising the proposal made by the minister Fernando Haddad, but highlighting that the topic is still in its initial stage. Without sparing praise for the Finance Minister’s conduct on the issue, Siewert said that issues such as the State debt indexer will still require debate, as will the counterparts required by the Executive.

“In the coming weeks, the secretaries will meet and discuss the project”, he said, pointing out that the federal government presented one thing, while the States’ expectations were another, and that it is necessary to find a middle ground between these two proposals “and I believe it is possible,” he said.

The Interest for Education Program, proposed by the Treasury, intends to refinance the States’ debts with the Union with investment commitments in Technical Secondary Education (EMT). The Treasury’s suggestion provides for three debt correction bands, depending on the percentage applied by the States in the counterparts.

Despite praising the investment in education, the secretary stated that it is the States’ intention to expand this scope of investment. “The issue of infrastructure, for example. The Southern States have suffered a lot from the climate issue”, said the secretary when defending an “open range” of the counterparts required by the government.

The idea is that discussions involving the project will take place over the next 60 days. During this period, the Finance secretaries met weekly with the Treasury Secretary, Rogério Ceron, and once every three weeks with the State governors.

Despite the signal from the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), who defended a 10-day deadline for debating the topic, Siewert stated that, despite Pacheco’s suggestion, the matter is being “piloted” by the federal government. “I still think that the 60-day path is natural for us to discuss, think, build,” he said.