Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro again said that he is contemplating to privatize national oil company Petroleos Brasileiros (Petrobras).
Bolsonaro’s statement is based on his disagreement with the company on passing on the higher energy prices to consumers. He had said that Petrobras’ insistence on passing on higher energy prices to consumers was giving him a headache.
The president has been an object of heavy political pressure regarding the soaring price of gasoline.
Bolsonaro’s efforts on taking hold of Petrobras include positioning a retired army general with no industry experience as the CEO but Joaquim Silva e Luna has systematically refused to artificially control prices.
According to a government leader in the Senate, the Bolsonaro administration is mulling to privatize Petrobras through a shale share.
Still, analysts are pessimistic that the plan would actually commence despite some key politicians coming out in support of the measure as the topic is way too controversial and risk their popularity.
Previously in 2019, Bolsonaro already expressed his initial intention to sell off the company. At that time, he argued that the company was being run solely for the benefit of its shareholders.
