During a forum in São Paulo, the governor cited Sabesp and said that the debate ignores the results of the concessions
The governor of São Paulo, (Republicans), stated this Monday (June 15, 2026) that the debate on privatizations in Brazil is still marked by ideological issues. During his participation in the , in São Paulo, he defended the participation of the private sector in infrastructure projects and public services and declared that “ideology and arithmetic are two values that do not mix”.
The statement was given in response to a question about the resistance of part of public opinion to privatizations, despite the advancement of concession and privatization programs in recent decades. In addition to Tarcísio, the event includes the former Minister of Finance and pre-candidate for the government of São Paulo, (PT), the pre-candidates for the Presidency, (PSD) and (Novo), and the senator (PL-PR), pre-candidate for the government of Paraná. The senator (PL-RJ), pre-candidate for President, is also among the guests on the program.
“Sometimes there is a lot of ideology in this debate. Ideology and arithmetic are two values that don’t mix”he stated.
According to Tarcísio, the population recognizes the benefits of private investments in areas such as highways, airports and transport when they start using these services. For him, the discussion should not ignore the results obtained by projects granted to the private sector.
“Nobody gives up traveling on a safe highway. Who gives up safety? Who gives up having good logistics?”these.
The governor also stated that the State is unable to carry out all the necessary investments to expand the country’s infrastructure on its own.
“You can’t assume that the State will be able to do everything alone. That’s false. It won’t”he declared.
During the interview, Tarcísio cited examples of concessions and privatizations carried out in Brazil and said that the country has accumulated successful experiences in sectors such as telecommunications, airports and highways. According to him, there was an evolution in the structuring of projects and in regulation, which contributed to increasing investor security.
When commenting on the São Paulo privatization program, the governor said that the State contracted around R$390 billion in investments through partnerships with the private sector. He also once again defended the privatization of Sabesp, under the argument that the measure will allow accelerating investments to universalize basic sanitation and expand sewage treatment in São Paulo’s municipalities.
For Tarcísio, the expansion of private participation must continue to be evaluated in different sectors of the economy. The governor even mentioned the possibility of future partnerships focused on areas linked to the knowledge economy and high-performance computing.
“We can be very creative when designing public-private partnerships and bringing private capital to things that are sometimes not so obvious”he stated.
