Implementação do novo marco legal do saneamento : a importância da regulação por contrato em um cenário atual de transição regulatória

Abstract

Although sanitation has been recognized as a fundamental human right by the United Nations (UN), the challenge for its universalization is still considerable. In Brazil, despite the efforts and public policies already made in the last 60 years, 35 million people remain without access to treated water and 100 million people lack sewage collection. It is in this scenario that the new legal framework was published in 2020. Its main objective is to promote the much desired and urgent universa¬lization of sanitation by encouraging the expansion of private participation and creating a more homogeneous and safer regulatory environment for investments. This paper presents an overview of the sector regulation from the 1960s until the implementation of the new framework, and discusses the relevance of regulation by contract for the sector in the regulatory transition period that will follow.