By Roberto Abdenur

We have a lot to learn from the sayings of popular philosophy. Specifically, here is the maxim that a dream ceases to be a dream when it becomes a plan and it moves to another sphere when, from a plan, it is transmuted into a project that is soon consummated in practice.

For years on end, we have lived in our country with a transgression that not only corrupts the foundations of society but causes extreme harm to the population, who, confident in obtaining economic advantages, lets themselves be seduced by the siren song of the consumption of cheap, accessible products, “ just like the originals ”, but, first and foremost, the result of criminal practices.

A country free of piracy has long ceased to be a dream and today, thanks to projects of great relevance put into practice persistently by governments and civil society entities, it can be seen as a feasible goal, albeit in long and hard ways. execution. The National Free Piracy Program of the National Council for Combating Piracy, of the Ministry of Justice (CNCP / MJ), created with the objective of municipalizing the fight against illegal practice in commerce, through incentives to city halls, to create local mechanisms prevention and repression of illegal trade, is today a great example.

Under the management of ETCO, the project is currently implemented in three major cities - Curitiba, Distrito Federal and São Paulo - with an expansion horizon, in the short term. An example that the union of political will with the integration between the diverse municipal, state and federal powers linked to justice and security is capable of making profound changes in what, before, seemed immutable.

One of the most vibrant examples of this comes from the city of São Paulo. Only from December 2010 until now, the Integrated Management Office, coordinated by the Municipal Secretariat of Urban Security captained 17 large integrated operations, resulting in the seizure of more than 25 million irregular products (with an estimated value of R $ 1,2 billion) , in addition to the arrest of 92 undocumented foreigners, who were notified by the Federal Police to leave the country.

It is certain that the repression of crime is only one of the possible strands of work in the fight against piracy, which necessarily involves education and improvement of laws related to the subject. But there is no doubt that the courage and commitment shown by the city of São Paulo amplifies the hope that one day what was a dream will effectively come true.

Roberto Abdenur is President of ETCO