Brazilian towns clash over waste tax and water works funding

The city council of Caraguatatuba voted in an extraordinary session to revoke the Municipal Solid Waste Management Tax (TMRSU), a move the mayor, Mateus Veneziani da Silva, subsequently vetoed. Council president Antonio Carlos Junior admitted the vote was driven by political pressure to "ficar bem na rua" before any technical solution was worked out, leaving the municipality without a clear funding source for waste collection, transport and treatment.

In Teresópolis, councilor Marcos Rangel denounced the ongoing works of the water concessionaire Águas da Imperatriz, accusing local politicians of exploiting the project for partisan gain. Rangel called for the creation of a municipal regulatory agency to oversee the concession, pointing to past officials who helped negotiate the contract and now praise the project without acknowledging the traffic disruptions and contractual constraints that could affect the town’s finances.