The energy supply crisis last week worsened the relationship between (Republicans) and the mayor () with (PSD), Minister of Mines and Energy in the Lula (PT) government.
During a relaxed meeting at the inauguration of the SBT News channel, on Friday (12), in Osasco.
When questioned at the event, Lula tried to ease the tension by saying that “it was Tarcísio’s fault”, but Nunes didn’t play along and continued with his request for help, showing the screen of his cell phone which pointed to almost 500,000 properties without power on Friday night.
“I know that you care about the people,” said Nunes, while Tarcísio defended new “regulatory instruments”.
Before the informal conversation, the mayor had already addressed the president during his speech at the launch ceremony.
“I hope that on Monday, at the premiere, president, we still don’t have the city of São Paulo with Enel,” said Nunes, who defends the federal government’s intervention.
Lula then promised to send Silveira to São Paulo to meet with Nunes in search of a solution.
The noise in the relationship between Tarcísio, Nunes and Silveira reached its peak at the beginning of November, when the minister stated that the São Paulo governors could cry, but that the contract with Enel, which expires in 2028, could be renewed despite all the criticism of the concessionaire’s service in the metropolitan region.
“If it’s right, we’ll renew it. If it’s wrong, send it out there, have the courage to do it, bury it and it’s over. We’re not going to ask for anyone’s favor, but we’re not going to politicize and leave doubt for the private sector, which we so need to attract investment”, stated the minister, in November.
last week. Nunes even stated that the minister defends vested interests.
“The doubt comes from the minister who, instead of serving the population, is worried about anticipating the discussion of a contract renewal that will expire in 2028”, countered Nunes, on Thursday.
“In 2023, 2024, 2025 we had chaos. And you [Silveira] defending the interest of this company. It is very clear who defends the population’s interests and who defends vested interests, which is the federal government’s Minister of Mines and Energy”, added the mayor.
Charged by the situation of São Paulo residents still without energy, Tarcísio, who usually adopts a more technical tone, criticized the concession contract, defended the need for investments in automating the energy network and, to this end, again asked for intervention.
“Every weather event will have problems, and I said that and there was criticism from the minister saying that he was trying to play politics. As for these people who are without power at home, when will the power be restored? This establishment will take a few days”, stated the governor.
Despite Enel’s difficulty in reducing, more quickly, the number of properties without energy, Silveira did not let his guard down in the face of Tarcísio and Nunes’ attacks.
“While the governor of São Paulo and the mayor of the state capital prefer to transform an extreme weather episode into a political dispute, the Brazilian government remains focused on what really matters: restoring electricity to the population quickly and safely,” said Silveira, in a note sent to Sheeton Friday.
The minister also stated that, due to wind gusts exceeding 110 km/h that damaged several cities in São Paulo, he called Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency) to reinforce supervision over the situation and installed a situation room for continuous monitoring.
Enel did not want to speak out in the face of the politicians’ disagreement. The company has said that it mobilized more than 1,600 teams to speed up the recomposition of the system.
Henrique Ávila, partner at Bermudes Advogados and representative of Enel, said that the crisis stems from failures in municipal management, especially maintenance and tree pruning.
“The mayor acts like a betrayed husband who puts the blame on the couch. Let him assume his responsibilities and recognize that chaos has ensued due to his failure to fulfill his tree pruning obligations,” said Ávila.
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