Economy minister: Petrobras not to be privatized in current tenure

Brazil’s Minister of the Economy Paulo Guedes ruled out any possible privatization of Petrobras “during the present tenure.” In a press conference at the Brazilian embassy in Paris on Tuesday (Mar. 29), he talked about the president change at the state-owned company and downplayed the move’s impact on the oil giant.

“President [Jair Bolsonaro] expressly said he would not privatize Petrobras in this tenure, his first tenure. He never said anything about a second tenure,” Guedes declared.

“When I think about Petrobras, I think we should privatize Petrobras, but I can’t vote. I’m only minister of the economy. I have nothing to comment on Petrobras,” said Guedes. He added that the only name he recommended to lead the state-owned company was economist Roberto Castello Branco, who chaired the company from January 2019 to February 2021.

Regarding the exchange of retired General Joaquim Silva e Luna for economist Adriano Pires as head of Petrobras, the minister said the swap should have no practical consequences on the firm’s management. “I don’t think this change is an important factor, actually. I don’t expect it to have any real effects,” he noted.

Guedes pledged to carry out other privatization plans by the end of the year, such as that of Eletrobras, Brazil’s holding company in electricity, in addition to the concession of ports and the airports of Galeão and Santos Dumont, in Rio de Janeiro, and Congonhas, in São Paulo.

The minister is on a visit to Paris to discuss Brazil’s admission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).