Cedae, Rio's water and sanitation company, will be privatized but not federalized

Cedae, Rio's water and sanitation company, will be privatized but not federalized. “The commitment that the government of Rio de Janeiro will assume with the Union, under the fiscal-recovery agreement being negotiated at the moment, is to privatize the company and use the proceeds to mitigate the state's crisis. The sale of Cedae will be carried out by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES). The state government believes it can raise R$5 billion with the deal. Privatization is one of the counterparts required by the federal government in the fiscal-recovery process. There are other requirements.” Governor Luiz Fernando Pezão said that a reduction of working hours and wages is among the proposals to alleviate the state's accounts, but admitted that this still depends on the analysis of the Federal Supreme Court. [Bom Dia Brasil transcript, 12 January 2017]