“NOVO MARCO LEGAL DO SANEAMENTO BÁSICO”: UM PROJETO POLÍTICO DAS ELITES POLÍTICAS E ECONÔMICAS PARA ASSEGURAR O MERCADO DO SANEAMENTO NO BRASIL

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.2882411071

• Palavras-chave: Saneamento básico; “novo marco legal”; participação privada

• Keywords: Basic sanitation; “new legal framework”; private participation

• Abstract: The article discusses the recent steps taken by Brazil's political and economic elite to consolidate the sanitation market, whose political project is demarcated by the expression “new legal framework for basic sanitation”, disseminated after the approval of Law no. 14,026/2020, which amended Law no. 11,445/2007 and six other laws. A critical review of the bibliography, documentary research and analysis of parliamentarians' speeches that took place in the Federal Senate session that approved PL 4,162/2019 was carried out. The analyzes allowed us to conclude that, with Law no. 14,026/2020, the private sector and the federal government created space for broad private participation in the area of basic sanitation. Aiming to demarcate a “new” moment in public policy, delimit a neoliberal political-ideological field and legitimize the expansion of privatization of services within society, the expression “new legal framework for basic sanitation” began to be used as a divider of public policy of basic sanitation. Sectors on the right and extreme right have been expanding private participation in the provision of services, reinforcing the economic-financial logic, to the detriment of guaranteeing universal access to these services essential to life. Therefore, it is urgent to improve Law no. 11,445/2007 and repeal of Law no. 14,026/2020, the expansion of public investments, among other measures, to ensure public services of basic sanitation for all.