i wonder if this caused a delay

This just hit the wires from Brazil.

Could this be the reason for the delay?
The presidential veto on a freeze on spending for Petrobras
was challenged by the opposition. Today that challenge was defeated.

Brazil Opposition Fails to Overrule Petrobras Vetoes
By Maria Luiza Rabello

Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Brazilian opposition lawmakers failed to override presidential vetoes of measures that would have frozen spending for some projects sought by state- controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiros SA.

Lawmakers voted on the matter by paper ballot last night, Claudia Lyra, the secretary of the Senate?s board of directors, said today in Brasilia.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva vetoed the freeze on Petrobras spending when he signed the 2010 budget on Jan. 26, saying he wanted to ensure that expansion plans weren?t delayed. A Senate probe cleared the company of allegations last year it had evaded 4.4 billion reais ($2.38 billion) of taxes, overpaid for goods and favored Lula?s supporters in its charitable donations.

Senator Alvaro Dias of the Social Democracy Party, the largest opposition group in the congress, said he will seek to have last night?s vote nullified because it was taken without a quorum.

?There were few senators present last night, so we knew we would lose,? he said. ?It should have been canceled, as the rule says.?


--Editors: Brendan Walsh, Fred Strasser

To contact the reporter on this story: Maria Luiza Rabello in Brasilia at +55-61-3329-1604 or [email protected]

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-10/brazil-opposition-fails-to-overrule-lula-s-vetoes-on-petrobras.html