Lula will act as controller of Petrobras, says Haddad

The Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddadstated this Wednesday, 27th, that President Lula (PT) will act as controller of the company’s pricing and investment policy Petrobras.

“The president has already said a million times that, both in relation to Petrobras’ pricing policy and in relation to Petrobras’ investment policy, being a strategic company, he will act as the controller so that Petrobras, for example, invests more in ecological transformation. It is the controller’s right to encourage Petrobras in this direction. If the oil is not going to end, it will be used less and less”said the minister in an interview with CNN Brazil.

The head of the government’s economic team, however, denies that the investment direction is an intervention in the state-owned company.

“I don’t think this is an intervention”he stated.

Petrobras clears the curtain on Lula’s intervention

Haddad is not the only one to defend Lula’s intervention in Petrobras. On March 13, the president of the state-owned company, Jean Paul Pratesadmitted the intervention of the President of the Republic in the oil company, but said he prefers to call it another name: guidance.

“The market got nervous waiting for dividends on whose decision was merely one of postponement and reservation. Talking about ‘intervention in Petrobrás’ (sic) is trying to create dissent, speculation and misinformation”commented on https://twitter.com/jeanpaulprates/status/1768059392488841524 the president of the company, who insists on emphasizing Petrobras — the accent has been officially removed in 1995.

“It is necessary once and for all to understand that Petrobrás (sic) is a mixed capital corporation controlled by the Brazilian State, and that this control is exercised legitimately by the majority of its Board of Directors. This cannot be seen as an intervention!”he argued.

Prates continued, finally admitting the “guidance” from Lula: “It is the sovereign exercise of company control by representatives. It is legitimate for the CA to position itself guided by the President of the Republic and his direct assistants, who are the ministers. This is exactly what happened in relation to the decision on extraordinary dividends”.

Lula’s intervention in Petrobras considerably affected the company’s market value this year. The oil company’s financial statement for the fourth quarter of 2023 was 14% below forecast of analysts.