Brazil: Lula da Silva says sale of Eletrobras is a crime against the homeland

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Workers’ Party (PT) leader, former president of Brazil, and ex-convict Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, reiterated Wednesday his opposition to the privatization of the country’s and Latin America’s largest electric utility, Eletrobras.

The leftist leader, who has determined Brazil’s destiny since the turn of the millennium, claimed that the sale of the electricity company at half its real value could lead to stagnation of the South American country’s industrial development and high electricity prices in the country.

The former president, who thanks to the activist Supreme Court (STF) was miraculously released from prison so that he can run (again) in the upcoming elections, also stressed that the privatization of Eletobras meant the loss of a state asset for the benefit of the Brazilian people.

Thus, he pointed out that at the beginning of the company’s construction, more than 20 billion reais (US$4 billion) were invested, benefiting 15 million people.

“The party will turn to the Supreme Court to prevent the privatization process, as it is a crime against the homeland that has swallowed more than 400 billion reais (US$80 billion) in the last 50 years,” stressed PT national president Gleisi Hoffmann.

According to the candidate for the next presidential elections in Brazil in October 2022, Lula da Silva, the electrical company ranked eighth in the list of companies that generated the highest revenues for the country in 2020.

It should be noted that the measure allowing the sale of Eletrobras was approved by current conservative Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro last July in order to end state control of the company and obtain an estimated 100 billion reais (US$20 billion) for the public budget.