The Board of Directors of Caixa Econômica Federal postpones the decision on the transfer of lottery service operations to its subsidiary.
The reason was the pressure exerted by employees. Employees fear that this measure will be the first step towards privatization.
The sale of a subsidiary requires approval from the National Congress, but employees believe it is easier to approve the sale of part of the company than the complete privatization of Caixa.
Fabiana Uehara, director of the Brasília Bank Workers Union, elected to represent employees on the Board of Directors, expressed concern about the situation:
“I think the government is not aware of what is happening. This agenda must be withdrawn”, claiming that the government may not be aware of the consequences. After an intense discussion, they postponed the decision.
Letter against privatization of Caixa Econômica Federal
The National Federation of Caixa Staff Associations (Fenae) and the National Confederation of CUT Financial Workers (Contraf–CUT) sent a letter to the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, warning about the risks of privatization.
They highlighted the role of Caixa lotteries in reducing social inequalities and the positive impact of resources allocated to social programs.
Antonio Abdan, finance secretary of the Brasília Bank Workers Union, highlighted that the transfer of lottery operations to a subsidiary could pave the way for privatization, harming both Caixa and the population.
“We employees are denouncing that if lottery operations are transferred to a subsidiary, privatization could happen and Caixa is the one who loses, because it loses resources, and the population, because it loses social programs”
Political influence
The influence of the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira, was also addressed. According to ICL Notícias, Lira managed to influence the replacement of the person responsible for the electronic sports betting area at Caixa.
According to journalist Letícia Casado, from UOL, since 2023, Lira has exerted strong pressure on Haddad on issues related to the online betting sector.
To avoid friction with the federal government, the minister would have given in to pressure from Lira and replaced the person responsible for the aforementioned area.
