Brazil: Petrobras rejects Bolsonaro’s interventionist policies on fuels

With information from EFE

The president of the Brazilian oil company Petrobras, Joaquim Silva e Luna, defended the company’s current pricing policy, which is regulated by the market, in the face of repeated criticism from the country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, against that model.

“We have already seen what happens in countries around us that did that (regulate fuel prices). The one that regulates the price is the market, especially when it comes to raw materials, “Silva e Luna said in an interview published this Saturday in the newspaper. stay.

Fuels soared in Brazil by around 50% in 2021, driven by the appreciation of oil in the international market and the strong appreciation of the US dollar against the Brazilian real.

The rise in hydrocarbons has also been one of the determining factors that has pushed inflation above double digits (10.7%) in the country.

Bolsonaro repeatedly charged against the increases in hydrocarbons in the country’s refineries, which have progressively been passed on to the final consumer, and expressed his desire to modify the legislation to change the price policy of the state company.

Brazil: Bolsonaro criticizes Petrobras

Jair Bolsonaro He also insisted that Petrobras, controlled by the Brazilian state but with securities traded on the Sao Paulo, New York and Madrid stock exchanges, must have a “social bias” and not give so many dividends to its shareholders.

Without citing Bolsonaro, Silva e Luna, who was appointed to the position by the president himself in February of last year, pointed out that Petrobras’ contribution to society is to continue being a “healthy company that generates resources” and to transfer part of they to the State “in the form of tributes.”

Silva e Luna, a retired Army general, stressed that “none of the profit” generated remains in “the Petrobras chest”, as it is used for “new investments”, as well as “debt payment” and “dividends ”.

“Petrobras has social responsibility and seeks to comply with it, but cannot make public policy (…) Only to the State we pay dividends of 27,000 million reais (4,800 million dollars) and 220,000 million reais (39,000 million dollars) in taxes for the federal, regional and municipal administrations ”, he said.