My focus is work, not wasting time on bureaucratic events
Em torno de uma rodovia conhecida como 'Rodovia da Morte', o governador de Minas Gerais e o presidente da República protagonizaram uma disputa que vai além do asfalto: trata-se de uma tensão antiga entre estados e União, entre o gesto simbólico e a obra concreta, entre a política como teatro e a política como serviço. A assinatura do contrato de concessão da BR-381 ao consórcio 4UM marcou um passo formal rumo à transformação de uma via historicamente letal, mas o que ficou em evidência foi a ausência de Zema e o que ela revela sobre as fraturas do federalismo brasileiro.
- Zema recusou-se a comparecer à cerimônia em Brasília, classificando o evento como burocracia vazia enquanto a rodovia ainda sangra acidentes.
- Lula respondeu com irritação, lembrando que renegociou R$ 160 bilhões em dívidas de Minas Gerais e acusando o governador de ingratidão política.
- O ministro Renan Filho foi mais direto: sugeriu que Zema coloca a oposição ideológica acima do interesse dos cidadãos mineiros.
- Por trás da disputa pessoal, um contrato real: R$ 5,5 bilhões em investimentos, 106 km de duplicação e prazo até 2029 para as obras mais urgentes.
- A pergunta que paira é se o ceticismo de Zema é técnico ou estratégico — e se a obra vai, enfim, silenciar a polêmica com resultados.
Na manhã de quarta-feira, enquanto Lula e o ministro Renan Filho assinavam no Palácio do Planalto o contrato de concessão da BR-381 — a rodovia que liga Belo Horizonte a Governador Valadares e carrega o apelido sombrio de 'Rodovia da Morte' —, o governador Romeu Zema estava em outro compromisso, com a Associação Mineira de Municípios. À tarde, nas redes sociais, ele explicou sua ausência com palavras afiadas: chamou a cerimônia de evento burocrático, mais útil para fotografias do que para obras. Prometeu aparecer quando houvesse máquinas no asfalto, fiscalização e trechos entregues.
Lula não deixou a provocação sem resposta. Lembrou que seu governo renegociou R$ 160 bilhões em dívidas de Minas Gerais com a União e afirmou, com ironia bíblica, que só Jesus Cristo teria feito o mesmo. Disse que nunca vetou investimentos a estados ou municípios por razões políticas — e que Zema deveria reconhecer isso. Renan Filho foi mais incisivo: afirmou que o governador coloca a disputa política acima do interesse dos cidadãos mineiros, transformando infraestrutura em munição eleitoral.
O contrato assinado transfere 297,4 quilômetros da rodovia ao consórcio 4UM Investimentos por 30 anos. O plano prevê 106 km de duplicação, 83 km de faixas adicionais, 34 viadutos e passagens de nível, 23 passarelas para pedestres e uma rampa de escape para caminhões desgovernados, entre outras intervenções. As duplicações mais críticas devem estar concluídas até 2029. O investimento total soma R$ 5,5 bilhões, com mais R$ 3,7 bilhões destinados à manutenção ao longo das três décadas.
O que a disputa entre Zema e o governo federal deixa em aberto é se o ceticismo do governador tem fundamento técnico — afinal, promessas sobre a BR-381 acumulam-se há anos sem resultado — ou se é, sobretudo, um cálculo político. No fim, será o estado da rodovia, e não o tom das declarações, que vai julgar quem tinha razão.
On Wednesday morning, Governor Romeu Zema of Minas Gerais was not in Brasília. While President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Transport Minister Renan Filho stood at the Palácio do Planalto to sign the privatization contract for BR-381—the highway connecting Belo Horizonte to Governador Valadares, notorious for its deadly stretches—Zema was elsewhere, attending to business with the Minas Gerais Municipal Association. By afternoon, he was on social media, firing back at the criticism that had come his way.
Zema's absence was deliberate, and his response was sharp. He dismissed the ceremony itself as mere bureaucracy, the kind of event that produces photographs and speeches but no actual work. The governor argued that previous administrations had made similar promises about the BR-381 and failed to deliver. What mattered to him, he said, was not the signing but the machinery on the road, the oversight, the completed sections. "When we're putting equipment on the pavement, inspecting, or opening finished stretches of BR-381, I'll be there," he said. "My focus is work, not wasting time on bureaucratic events."
Lula did not let the absence pass without comment. He reminded Zema of past complaints the governor had lodged about the federal debt renegotiation program—a program that had restructured R$160 billion in obligations owed by Minas Gerais to the federal government. The president suggested, with evident irritation, that Zema ought to be grateful. "He should give me a prize," Lula said, "for being the only president of this republic he knows of who never vetoed anything from any mayor or governor because they were opposition." The president added, with a touch of biblical flourish, that what his administration had done for states drowning in debt was something only Jesus Christ would have done.
Renan Filho, the transport minister, took a different tack. He acknowledged that Minas Gerais had been pressing for these investments since the previous administration, but he framed Zema's continued criticism as a political move that diminished public governance. "A public manager can be political or technical, a worker or a businessman," Renan said. "But he cannot prioritize politics over the citizen's interest, and that's what Minas Gerais does." The implication was clear: Zema was using the infrastructure issue as a cudgel against a federal government he opposed.
Belo Horizonte's acting mayor, Álvaro Damião, represented the city at the ceremony in place of Fuad Noman, who was hospitalized in the capital being treated for respiratory insufficiency. The signing itself marked the formal transfer of the 297.4-kilometer stretch of highway to 4UM Investimentos, the winning bidder in the concession auction. The consortium has committed to spending R$5.5 billion on improvements over the life of the 30-year contract.
The scope of work is substantial. The plan calls for 106 kilometers of road duplication, 83 kilometers of additional lanes, nearly 10 kilometers of service roads, 34 bypasses and grade separations, 23 pedestrian overpasses, 166 bus stops, an escape ramp for runaway trucks, a rest area for drivers, and support stations scattered along the route. The first major duplication work is scheduled to be complete by 2029. Beyond the initial improvements, 4UM will invest another R$3.7 billion over the three decades maintaining the road and providing services to users.
The BR-381 has long carried a grim reputation. The highway's deadliness is embedded in its nickname—the "Rodovia da Morte," the Road of Death. For years, the stretch between Belo Horizonte and Governador Valadares has been the site of frequent and often catastrophic accidents, many involving trucks and buses on a road that has become a bottleneck for commerce and travel in the region. The privatization, in theory, should bring the capital and expertise needed to make it safer and more efficient.
What remains unclear is whether Zema's skepticism about the ceremony reflects genuine doubt about the project's viability or simply a calculation that staying away and dismissing the event as theater serves his political interests better than showing up. Either way, the dispute between the governor and the federal government has become personal, playing out in real time across social media and the press. The actual work on the road—the machinery, the inspections, the opened stretches—will be the only measure that matters in the end.
Citas Notables
When we're putting equipment on the pavement, inspecting, or opening finished stretches of BR-381, I'll be there. My focus is work, not wasting time on bureaucratic events.— Governor Romeu Zema
He should give me a prize for being the only president of this republic he knows of who never vetoed anything from any mayor or governor because they were opposition.— President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did Zema skip the ceremony? Was it really just a scheduling conflict?
He had a meeting with the municipal association, but the timing feels deliberate. He used his absence to make a point—that he cares about results, not theater. It's a political move dressed up as pragmatism.
And Lula's response about the debt renegotiation—was that a genuine grievance or political theater on his side?
Both. The renegotiation was real and substantial. But Lula bringing it up at the ceremony suggests he was stung by Zema's absence and wanted to remind him of what the federal government had done. It's a way of saying: you owe me.
Do you think the BR-381 actually gets fixed this time?
The money is committed and the timeline is clear. But infrastructure in Brazil has a history of delays and cost overruns. Zema's skepticism isn't baseless—previous promises on this road have fallen short. The real test comes in 2029.
What's the deeper conflict here—is it just about the road?
No. It's about whether you can trust the federal government to deliver without political games. Zema sees ceremony as a substitute for action. Lula sees Zema's criticism as ingratitude and political opportunism. They're talking past each other.
Will this dispute affect the actual work on the road?
Unlikely. The concession is signed, the money is allocated, and a private company is now responsible. But the political tension might make oversight more contentious. Zema will be watching closely, and Lula will be watching Zema.