Billions in public infrastructure projects anchored in amendments by the rapporteur in the Chamber, without any transparency or rationality. Technical areas of regulatory agencies occupied by political nominations from the government and its support base, endorsed by the Senate. Uninterrupted worsening of environmental degradation indicators in the Amazon, with the declared support of ministers and President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
These are some of the issues that have come to be mentioned by investors in meetings where they assess the intention to put money into long-term projects in Brazil. This is an important issue for those who work in infrastructure and concessions, which presuppose a relationship with the public power.
According to Claudio Frischtak, partner and manager of Inter B Consultoria Internacional de Negócios, these items now add to old problems that were already on the table and were not resolved: legal uncertainty, high and chaotic taxation, credit limitations, in addition to currency and tax risks.
To complicate matters, the government reduced investment in infrastructure, considered an inducer of private investment, and released part of the budget to Congress.
"In the last three years, Brazil has suffered reputational destruction abroad for not being able to keep up with the change in mentality that is taking place in business," he says. "Companies, investment and pension funds, important long-term investors, are including the environment in the analysis of return on investment. Anyone who insists on ignoring this lives on another planet."
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon