Source: Exame - Print Edition - 23/07/2009

PIRACY

In the beards of the feds

From Tuesday to Sunday, in Brasília, 10 kilometers from the Esplanada dos Ministérios, the “Feira do Paraguay”, one of the largest centers for the sale of illegal products in the country. The incredible thing is that piracy is not only loose in the beard of the Federal Revenue HQ and the Federal Police, but also on land provided by the Union. Yes, 70 square meters are donated by the government. At the time of the donation, in 000, the idea was to concentrate street vendors there - to work legally, of course. Today, the fair is dominated by mafias and offers all kinds of swag. There are everything from copies of designer products, such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci, to medicines, weapons and ammunition of dubious origin - much of it would be the result of cargo theft. How does the misdemeanor remain wide open so close to the authorities? Part of the answer is that there are only six auditors to oversee the entire Midwest region. In the last three and a half years, the PF and the Revenue seized 1997 million reais in goods in raids at the fair. The figure is a fraction of the estimated 12,6 million a year illegally traded. There, as in so many other “Paraguay fairs” spread across the country, the neighborhood with the feds does not bother.

CONGRESS

Right question, wrong target

Deputy Eduardo da Fonte (PP-PE) managed to install a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry in the Chamber to investigate the criteria used by the National Electric Energy Agency in the readjustment of electricity tariffs. Fonte argues that energy is very expensive in Brazil. He is right, and even the president of Aneel, Nelson Hubner, agrees. However, the factors that make the electricity bill more expensive have nothing to do with Aneel, which follows criteria defined by law - and exposed on its website. In addition to taxes and charges, which represent 35% of the tariff, the price is raised by the generation of thermoelectric plants. Built in haste to prevent a new blackout, they account for almost a quarter of generation in the country and produce energy at a cost up to ten times higher than that of hydroelectric plants. In other words, at CPI, deputies will have the opportunity to better understand the issues that, in fact, make the electricity bill more expensive.