Bolsonaro highlights fuel crisis and does not rule out new exchanges at Petrobras

President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) had lunch this Monday afternoon (25) with 135 businesswomen and executives at Palácio Tangará, in São Paulo, spoke again about fuel prices, a sensitive topic for the electorate, and reaffirmed that he would change the president. Petrobras whenever necessary.

At the event, organized by Grupo Voto, Bolsonaro took the opportunity to praise some of his government’s achievements, such as Auxílio Brasil, an income transfer program that replaced Bolsa Família and is paid mainly to low-income women who are heads of households.

The president also mentioned the Economic Freedom Act, an attempt to reduce bureaucracy in the process of opening companies. He also announced the creation of a R$ 50 billion credit line, aimed at small entrepreneurs and MEIs (Individual Microentrepreneurs).

When mentioning the crisis in fuel prices, Bolsonaro said that Brazil currently occupies the first quartile of the 25 countries that have the cheapest fuels, reinforcing that he will change the command of Petrobras whenever necessary.

The event was organized by Grupo Voto, chaired by businesswoman Karim Miskulin. Also present were Esther Schattan (President and Founder of Ornare), Carla Sarni (Founder of Sorridents), Claudia Papa Scarpa (Vice President for Latin America at Star Insurance Company), Ana Carolina Paiffer (from Atom) and Marly Parra (from iHub and Endeavor Brasil ambassador).

The lunch served for Bolsonaro to try to bring his pre-candidate for the government of São Paulo, former minister Tarcísio de Freitas, closer to the São Paulo business community.

The event also comes after a series of public demonstrations by the business community, which has made statements in defense of the electoral system and democracy, targets of recurrent attacks by Bolsonaro.

Last week, he even took part in an event with foreign diplomats in which he repeated unsubstantiated criticisms of the electoral system.

The episode was interpreted by businessmen and jurists as one of the most serious chapters in Bolsonaro’s anti-democratic escalation and acts were scheduled for the next August 11 at the USP Law School (University of São Paulo).

On Friday (22), for example, the president of Natura, Fábio Barbosa, recalled, through a post on his LinkedIn profile, that he was involved with the 2021 “Elections will be respected” manifesto, and took the opportunity to reiterate the principles of the movement in defense of democracy.

With Bolsonaro in second place in the polls – behind former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) – there is an effort to win more votes from the female electorate.

Minister Paulo Guedes (Economy), Ciro Nogueira (Casa Civil), Daniella Marques (the new president of Caixa Econômica Federal), federal deputy Carla Zambelli (PL-SP), federal deputy Captain Derrite ( PL-SP) and Flávio Rocha (Special Secretary for Strategic Affairs).

Also present were former Minister Marcos Pontes, Luiz Eduardo Ramos (Chief Minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic), Cristiane Britto (Minister of Women, Family and Human Rights), Joaquim Alvaro (Minister of the Environment) and Marcos Montes (Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply).

According to the organizers, Lula and Simone Tebet (MDB) were also invited to similar events, but have not yet confirmed their presence.

In April of last year, the president met in the same place, with more than 40 executives. At the time, he said that Paulo Guedes did not whistle in the political part of his government.

“I talk to them [ministros] before making any decision, be the simplest, the most normal. I call Damares and ask what to do. Paulo Guedes, in economics, I say almost nothing. We have a good relationship because I don’t whistle in economics and he doesn’t whistle in politics,” Bolsonaro said in a video obtained by Sheet at the time.