Brazil sells off more parastatals to raise funds

BRAZILIAN President Michel Temer’s government says 57 public companies and airport terminals will be privatised in order to reduce the country’s fiscal deficit which is nearly $500 billion (R6.6bn).

The measure was announced just hours after the government declared its intention to sell Electrobras, Brazil’s largest energy company.

The new concessions will be carried out through a package that intends to tender the administration of 14 airports – including the Congonhas aircraft terminal in Sao Paulo – 11 lots of electric transmission lines, 15 port terminals, two highways, and several public companies such as the mint.

The presidential office claims the privatisations will generate important investments in oil and gas, energy, roads, airports and ports.

However, the measure has provoked strong criticism from social organisations and leftist political parties in the country, who assert that the privatisation of state assets favours business interests and non-citizens.

Temer also issued a decree on Wednesday abolishing a sprawling nature reserve in the Amazon rainforest covering 4.6 million hectares, an area larger than Denmark, opening it up to commercial activity.

The ecologically rich and delicate area, known as the National Reserve of Copper and Associates (Renca), is believed by prospectors to contain enormous reserves of gold, iron, manganese, and other minerals.

The Renca reserve has existed since 1984 with the intention of protection the area from mining activities which would harm ecological diversity and wildlife, as well as indigenous communities.

Mining groups petitioned the unelected Temer government to lift the protections on the reserve. – teleSUR