Bank employees will hold a protest against the Lotex auction.

In protest against the privatization of the Exclusive Instant Lottery (Lotex), scheduled for April 26th, Caixa employees are expected to wear black on March 26th and post photos with the hashtag #ACaixaédoBrasil (Caixa Belongs to Brazil). Meetings will also be held at bank branches and street activities will take place with the public in preparation for the April 26th demonstration.

“It is crucial that, in the period leading up to the scheduled date for the handover of Lotex to private capital, employees and the public mobilize against this attack on Caixa, its workers, and also on society, which will lose a very important asset,” urges Dionísio Reis, coordinator of the Executive Committee of Employees (CEE/Caixa) and Caixa employee.

The labor movement is completely against the privatization of Caixa's lotteries, as well as any other asset of the public bank. According to data from the public company, from 2011 to 2016, the lotteries raised R$ 60 billion, of which R$ 27 billion was allocated to finance projects in areas such as culture, sports, scholarships, and public safety.

In 2017, Caixa lotteries registered a total revenue of approximately R$ 14 billion. Of this amount, almost half (48%) was allocated to social programs. If the sale goes through, the amount is expected to be drastically reduced, since the auction foresees a social allocation of only 16,7%.

“We cannot accept that resources that currently fund culture, education, sports, and security be allocated to the private profit of companies and shareholders. Privatizing Lotex makes no sense. Therefore, the resistance of workers and society is fundamental to stopping this threat. We will show the government that this privatization is in no one's interest,” the leader concludes.

The Brazilian National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) has once again postponed the Lotex concession auction this week. This is the fourth postponement of the auction date and the fifth attempt by the federal government to grant the operation of Lotex to the private sector.Spbancarios Editorial Staff (Artwork: Marcio Baraldi)