Rodrigo Pacheco: This was very important for the finances of those municipalities in Minas and throughout Brazil, particularly in 2024, when they were able to close their accounts, and it allowed municipal public policies to be implemented thanks to those savings on the social security contribution, arising from this Senate bill.
Rodrigo Pacheco: It also adds to a structuring project, also authored by this Federal Senate, which is Propag (Program for Full Payment of State Debts), which is very important for the State of Minas Gerais, one of the most indebted states of the Republic, and which now, through Propag — through a complementary law passed in the Senate, also approved in the Chamber of Deputies and sanctioned by President Lula — allows us to have a more appropriate, more palatable, more reasonable negotiation with the Union, with a very considerable reduction in the interest on that debt, permitting a broader negotiation, including the use of state assets to pay that debt.
So, I merely want to say that, in this House of the Federal Senate, I share all these actions with my colleagues Senator Carlos Viana and Senator Cleitinho, and those who were with us earlier, Senator Antonio Anastasia and Senator Alexandre Silveira, because it truly took dedication for us to reach a solution to the debt of the State of Minas Gerais, which matters to the municipalities; to obtain a reduction in the payroll social security contribution; to secure the inclusion of municipalities in the Sudene area; and, now, to have municipalities favored by this very sizable loan, stemming from an initiative of President Dilma Rousseff at the head of the BRICS Bank, with the allocation of BDMG resources for small and medium-sized municipalities and for small and micro-entrepreneurs in the State of Minas Gerais.
Rodrigo Pacheco: So, that was just a note of thanks and of information.
Rodrigo Pacheco: And I very much hope to have the solidarity of all Senators when this loan arrives here, so that we may approve it as quickly as possible, because time is pressing, and the needs of Minas Gerais are very great and require the political unity of all of us in order to be effectively met. Thank you very much, Mr. President.