The vote took place after a long session, which ended in the early morning on Thursday.

Alessandro Molon, from the Socialist Party of Brazil, criticized the measure. Is it reasonable to sell the sixth most lucrative company in Brazil, decisive for energy sovereignty? Is is reasonable to vote an important [matter] like this in 23 hours?, he wondered.

If the project is approved at the Senate, this will be the first big privatization by the government of President Jair Bolsonaro.

The measure was sent to the Loweer House by Bolsonaro himself on February 23 as part of his ambitious liberal economic agenda.

Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva warned recently about the privatization of Eletrobras, which may risk the country’s energy sovereignty and security.

Da Silva denounced on Twitter that Bolsonaro will sell the company at the price ‘of a banana’ and is ‘just another crime against the Brazilian people and the future of our country’, adding that privatizing Eletrobras means ‘delivering an invaluable legacy on a silver plate.’

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