Good morning! Today, lawmakers moving to grant more liberties to meat producers. How the House is trying to tame inflation. And new risks facing Eletrobras privatization.
Congress could allow meat companies to police themselves
The House’s Constitution and Justice Committee passed a bill on Tuesday allowing agribusiness companies to hire private auditors to monitor their plants and production chain. The bill was fast-tracked and now moves directly to the Senate.
Why it matters. In a nutshell, the bill would create a system for agricultural inspections similar to the one in place for the mining industry. Recent dam disasters, however, have exposed the risks and shortfalls embedded in such a system.
- Case in point: In 2019, a Vale tailings dam collapsed in Brumadinho, killing 270 people, despite having all of its safety permits up to date. A group of victims blames a German auditor for erroneously certifying the safety of the dam due to fears of losing Vale as a client.
History. In March 2017, the Federal Police unveiled a vast corruption scheme operated by protein producers within the Agriculture Ministry. For years, federal auditors took bribes in exchange for fraudulent sanitary permits and falsified export documents. BRF and JBS,...