"The Port of Rio is very important for the State, for the business environment, for tourism. So, I made a request to the president so that the Port is transferred to State control or that we can have a greater partnership in its management," Witzel announced.
In the document, the government claims that, with the control of the State, the Port area will attract new economic activities, through Public-Private Partnerships and Investment Partner Programs. With this, says the text, new investments in hotel construction, for example, will foster tourism in this "beautiful"region, increasing the collection of state and federal taxes. The request made to Bolsonaro mentions Decree 2.184 / 97, which authorizes the Ministry of Transport to delegate to states or municipalities, through an agreement, the operation of ports.
Witzel's proposal could become a new clash between state and City Hall. That is because in December Mayor Marcelo Crivella suggested the municipalization of the Port to Paulo Guedes, who at the time had already been chosen to be Minister of Economy. City Hall even announced that there was an American investor interested in building a large casino resort in the area.
It's not just Crivella who wants casinos in Rio, Governor Wilson Witzel also has clear signals that he favors the release of gambling as a way to generate resources. In the possession of the new attorney general, Marcelo Lopes da Silva, the governor called for an effort to legalize the gaming activity in the country, which could directly benefit the state, the main entrance gate for foreigners in Brazil and the largest domestic tourist destination.
In a speech during the inauguration ceremony of the new president of Petrobras, at the company's headquarters and next to the new economy minister Paulo Guedes, Witzel also took the opportunity to defend the legalization of gambling in the country. "There is a belief that gaming cannot happen in Brazil. Gaming can work anywhere in the world," said Witzel.
During his campaign, Witzel said he wants to turn tourism into the state's "new oil," and wants TurisRio, the state-owned oil company, to be a "new Petrobras." It has set as a goal that the annual number of visitors reach 12 million, ten times more than the current volume of foreigners in Rio and almost double the number of tourists arriving in Brazil.
For this reason, he has maintained in his statements the intention that Rio de Janeiro has casinos that can generate even more interest in tourists from Brazil and foreigners to visit the state and, consequently, get a higher tax collection beyond the movement of people.
Source: GMB / O Globo
