Resignation at Petrobras reduces pressure for CPI, but Congress is still evaluating measures

The resignation of José Mauro Coelho from the position of president of Petrobras further cooled the climate for the Chamber to comply with the request of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and install a CPI to investigate possible abuses by the company’s current management in the face of the escalation in oil prices. fuels, according to leaders of the ruling base.

However, allies of Palácio do Planalto and the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), still maintain the plan to carry out discussions on projects that may change taxation or rules for the state-owned company. The message they want to get across is that Congress is looking for ways to ease the pressure on prices.

One of the proposals that should be debated is by the leader of the PL in the Chamber, Altineu Côrtes (RJ), who prioritizes the domestic market over oil exports. The idea is that before exporting the product, it is offered, under the same conditions and values, to refining companies operating in Brazil.

Côrtes is from the same party as Bolsonaro. The suggestion of the leader of the party, which currently holds the largest bench in the House, has already been presented to Lira and his allies.

Regarding the idea of ​​creating a CPI, leaders of the centrão, a group that is part of the government’s base, say that the main objective has already been achieved — to press for the change in command of Petrobras. But, so far, Bolsonaro has not yet given signs whether he will support the idea of ​​the investigation after Coelho’s resignation.

The offensive against Petrobras intensified last Friday, after the announcement of the readjustment of fuel prices, in a joint reaction by Bolsonaro and allies. The rise in prices irritated the president, who had been asking the state-owned company to postpone the decision.

The political class, which was already complaining about Petrobras’ pricing policy, began to put even more pressure on José Mauro Coelho to resign. This would pave the way for a quicker change at the helm of the company, but he had been resisting until this Monday.

With the resignation, House leaders believe that the retaliation package should be softened. But they are unlikely to shelve all the measures suggested by Lira.

The list includes proposals to raise the taxation of Petrobras’ profits, discuss the state-owned company’s pricing policy, tax oil exports, in addition to the CPI – an item that has the most resistance.

Deputies from the ideological wing of the government and the PL must insist on the proposal sponsored by Bolsonaro to open an investigation into the management of Petrobras. The opposition in the Chamber and also in the Senate is studying proposing the creation of the CPI, aligning itself with Bolsonaro in a very unusual move in politics.

The matter will be discussed at a meeting with Lira on Monday afternoon. For now, a wing of the center wants to stop the investigation because of the risk of wear and tear to the Planalto Palace. As an argument, they say that after the resignation, the Chamber is better off focusing on proposals that will ease prices.

Although at war declared against the current direction of Petrobras, a wing of the center had already started to question, during the weekend, Bolsonaro’s proposal for Congress to install a CPI.

There are several arguments: a CPI would have little practical effect on the main need of the Planalto, which is to contain the increase in the price of diesel and gasoline at the pumps; it could also become a platform for the opposition and extend through the electoral period — amplifying any political wear and tear.

The investigation, in a case like this, is political, remind deputies and party leaders. Therefore, the opposition can use the commission to attack the president and his actions in the face of rising fuel prices.

The majority of the council that approved the recent readjustment was nominated by Bolsonaro, who even chose José Mauro Coelho for the presidency. Thus, say centrão exponents, it would be difficult, in a CPI, for the representative not to be associated with the skyrocketing values ​​paid by Brazilians at the posts.