Brazil's Petrobras to be led by privatization advocate

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Brazil’s Petrobras to be led by privatization advocate

By DIANE JEANTET
30 minutes ago

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s President-elect Jair Bolsonaro on Monday named Roberto Castello Branco, a pro-market reformer, as future chief executive of the country’s state-controlled oil company, Petrobras.

Castello Branco, a former member of Petrobras’ board, has advocated privatizing the oil giant, a measure also supported by his close ally and long-time friend Paulo Guedes, designated as Brazil’s next finance minister.

The nomination of Castello Branco, an engineer with experience in both the oil sector and running large companies, appeared to be garnering initial support.

“It’s a name that arrives with quite a lot of strength,” said Gilberto Braga, a finance professor at Brazilian university Ibmec in Rio de Janeiro, citing Costello Branco’s time as a Petrobras board member and previously as a director of mining company Vale.

Bolsonaro’s administration takes over on Jan. 1. Experts believe that a wholesale privatization of Petrobras is unlikely under the next administration, despite strong support from market-friendly Guedes and Costello Branco.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/7b1972eaa1c34fafbfc4e72e418730d6

[Power 2 the People]

1. Of course.It's always about privatizing the oil.

Allied leaders always morph into "dictators" and "madmen" after they decide to nationalize their country's natural resources and move profits from corporations to the people.

[GatoGordo]

2. I think that they cannot privatize Petrobras.

Like PdVSA in Venezuela, it is in the Constitution.