Federalization of the Port of Itajaí Advances as Lawyer is Appointed to Lead the Process

Against the wishes of the Itajaí community, the first meeting regarding the federalization of the Port of Itajaí was held on Sunday, the 15th. During the meeting, João Paulo Tavares, a lawyer and former mayoral pre-candidate for Itajaí from the Workers’ Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores, PT) was appointed as the representative of Lula’s administration. He will lead the discussions and may take over as head of the terminal once the process is finalized.

Tavares has a background with the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), having served as president of the Itajaí subsection and as a federal councilor of the organization. In the public sector, he held roles as Secretary of Administration, Municipal Attorney General, and President of the Itajaí Pension Institute.

The lawyer’s name was decided during Sunday’s meeting, which was attended by Décio Lima, President of the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae), a former federal deputy for the region, and a previous gubernatorial candidate for Santa Catarina.

According to the news portal ND+, a team from the São Paulo State Dock Company (Codesp), which manages the Port of Santos, was also present in Itajaí to assess the terminal’s conditions. Codesp is considered a potential future administrator of the Port of Itajaí, a role it previously held in the 1990s.

During that time, the terminal’s control by one of its main competitors led to dissatisfaction among the port workers of Itajaí. According to Dr. Osvaldo Agripino, a lawyer and expert in port law, “back then, you had to call Santos just to request a ream of paper, for example.”

The issues caused by external management spurred community mobilization and political action, resulting in a municipalization agreement for the port. This agreement will expire on December 31, 2024. It was originally supposed to end in 2022, but a contract amendment extended municipal administration by two years.

On Tuesday (17), João Paulo Tavares will travel to Brasília for a meeting at the Presidential Palace, where the potential federalization of the port will be discussed.

Source: Portal Menina

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