Minas Gerais Assembly Backs Copasa Privatization in First Round, 50–17

Overview

• Governor Romeu Zema’s PL 4,380/2025 would end state control of Copasa while preserving a preferred share with veto power.
• The committee’s substitute text requires tariff moderation, water quality commitments, and 18 months of job stability for permanent employees.
• Proceeds could go toward amortizing Minas Gerais’s R$181 billion federal debt, fulfilling Propag obligations, and seeding a sanitation fund with up to 5% of net sale value.
• The session featured protests and procedural tussles, and a recent constitutional amendment removed the requirement for a popular referendum on the sale.
• Copasa has begun notifying municipalities and suggesting contract terms unified through 2073, as the government touts investment and modernization and opponents warn of higher tariffs, service risks, and layoffs.