The vice president of the National Federation of Mayors (FNP) and current mayor of Porto Alegre (RS), Sebastião Melo, was in favor of legalizing the gambling market in Brazil to finance public transport in speech at a meeting with municipal secretaries of urban mobility, this Wednesday, 10.
“I am in favor of the game because it exists in Brazil. And we need an alternative to finance the system that has several operators”, he declared.
Gambling resources can also help fund the nursing floor
The release of gambling in the country is generating discussions in the National Congress, and the resources are highly disputed. The Legal Framework for Gambling is pending in the Senate, after being approved in the Chamber of Deputies.
When being taxed, gambling can also become the main source of income to pay the minimum wage for nursing, which can increase spending on human resources in the segment by 88%. According to the Diário de Pernambuco, health plans project additional expenses in the amount of 11.5 billion reais.
Melo stressed that public transport needs renovation, as well as innovation in the management system between cities to improve the service. Therefore, one of the ideas is the creation of a Unified Transport System, similar to the centralized model of the Unified Health System (SUS). “Only those who don’t have any options take the bus. They are old buses, with no timetable. This situation cannot be sustained,” he said.
The mayor of Aracaju (SE), Edivaldo Nogueira, reinforced that national mobility is at a “crossroads” and it is essential to “quickly get out of it”. “The transport system was built without planning and was left to the municipalities, which are often not interconnected. In a continental country like Brazil, we need a single system, of course, discussed among all entities (States), but with national planning”, he argued.
One of the factors in favor of the single model is the positive experience for other public segments. “Why do we advance in health in Brazil with all the difficulties and mishaps? Because we have SUS. In and out president, governor, mayor, but the system continues. We have the Social Assistance System (SUAS), the National Defense system. This can be seen in the transport system as well, all that is needed is national planning”, concluded Nogueira.
