During a visit to the Main Space Operations Center (COPE-P) of Telebras, a mixed-economy open-capital company that provides connectivity solutions, the president said that “there are things that have to be, inexorably, state-owned. It is like that in Germany, in France, in the United States.”

He indicated that many people in the country are infected by the theory of opening up the market to everyone, that the important thing is free access to trade.

Lula urged “to have the minimum of energy, pride in being Brazilian and think a little about this country, about what the State can offer for the well-being of society, for the sovereignty of society.”

The head of State noted that in a company like Telebras, it is a guarantee that we can discuss artificial intelligence “without having to be subordinated to only two or three nations, which are already in the lead.”

He mentioned other companies that have been victims of the privatization drive, such as Petrobras (oil company) and Eletrobras (electricity).

“We lived through times in Brazil of many dreams and hopes. Then, we lived through times of great uncertainty, when everything that was good had to be privatized, had to come from abroad,” he added.

Lula recalled that many times they tried to denationalize Petrobras, the country’s pride and “one of the most extraordinary companies, which was created in 1953 by President Getúlio Vargas.”

When there is difficulty in privatizing, he pointed out, “they sell separate assets and try to separate the body. I sell an arm, a leg, an ear, teeth… That is, when you come back, you realize that the company is dismantled and is not fulfilling its role.”

Lula referred to what was done with Eletrobras and “now, more recently, we have seen the privatization of Sabesp (the largest sanitation company in Brazil).”

According to the president, in the case of Correos and Telebras, the height of ignorance was reached, since these two companies were practically prohibited from selling services to the State.

“They could not offer services to the State, even if they offered cheaper services. That is, ignorance rose to the seventh power. A State that is not respected. A Government that has no vision of the State. People who do not think about Brazil,” the progressive leader noted.

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