Brazilian Senate Stalls Sale Of Eletrobras Subsidiaries And Auction of Oil Fields

08/08/2018 - 12h54

The Brazilian Senate will delay voting on bills and proposals deemed high priority by president Michel Temer's office until at least the October election. Among them, the sale of power distribution subsidiaries of utilities company Eletrobras and a bill authorizing Petrobras to put pre-salt oil fields up for sale.

On Tuesday (7), party leaders met with Senate President Eunício Oliveira (MDB-CE), to discuss what bills will be put up for vote by the plenary in a joint effort to vote as many bills as possible before the elections.

According to senators present at the meeting, the leaders concluded that only bills with absolute consensus among in the Senate would be put up for voting. Anything that brings dissent among the members will not make the cut.

"Nothing that brings controversy - and these are controversial topics - will be submitted to the Senate for voting. I also believe that the House of Representatives feels the same way," said the Senate vice-president, Cássio Cunha Lima (PSDB-PB). "There would be neither mood nor quorum for that," he said.

Minority leader Humberto Costa (PT-PE) said that it should be up to the next president to define what should be the priority bills for the Brazilian Congress.

Translated by NATASHA MADOV

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