Bolsonaro says Petrobras will announce a reduction in fuel prices

President Jair Bolsonaro said this Sunday (5) that Petrobras will start announcing a series of reductions in fuel prices, starting this week.

“Petrobras begins this week to announce a reduction in the price of fuel,” he said in an interview to the Poder360 website.

The head of the Executive, however, did not say what would be the reduction percentages or deadlines.

The rise in fuel prices has been one of the main drivers of inflation, which has already surpassed the double digits accumulated in 12 months and is an economic problem faced by the Bolsonaro administration.

In addition to affecting the president’s popularity, inflation has also caused dissatisfaction among mayors. They complain that they are being pressured to readjust public transport fares. Therefore, they request financial assistance from the federal government.

Another group heavily affected by the rise in fuel prices is truck drivers. Bolsonaro’s support base, the category has been organizing, however, demonstrations against Petrobras’ pricing policy and the lack of action by the federal government to contain inflation.

Under pressure, Bolsonaro even announced an aid of R$ 400 for the category, which would come from the open space on the roof by the PEC dos Precatórios, approved in the Senate last week.

The president has also been responding to criticism for the rise in fuel prices by attacking governors and Petrobras itself. In relation to the former, he usually claims that the high prices are a consequence of state taxes, in particular the ICMS (Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Services).

“I did not readjust, kept frozen since 2019, the value of the PIS/Cofins, which is the federal tax. The governors kept the percentage, which varies according to the value at the pump. And more than doubled the amount collected with the ICMS. They want to criticize, criticize. But the right person,” he said to the website this Sunday.

Recently, Bolsonaro also started to attack Petrobras, claiming that he has no control over the company and said he was discussing with Minister Paulo Guedes (Economy) a “solution”.

“It is a company that I have no control over, it has its equipment. It seeks profit. We had serious problems in the past, in addition to corruption, with the issue of parity with international prices. We are seeking to review this issue,” said Bolsonaro nas last weeks.

“It delivers gasoline at R$ 2.30 a liter. It reaches R$ 7 at the end of the line. It is a subject that I always try to debate with society to demonstrate where the problem lies,” said the agent.

On the other hand, in a hearing in the Senate, ten days ago, the company’s president, General Joaquim Silva e Luna, said that “it is not correct” to attribute the increase in fuel prices to Petrobras.

“Petrobras readjusts the price of these fuels observing these variables: foreign market, domestic market, how they behave, we observe practically three large markets — the United States, Europe and Asia — the competition between producers and importers, and the variation of the price on the world market,” he argued.

According to the company’s president, in the last seven months, the state-owned company spent 95 days without changing the price of LPG; 85 without increasing the value of diesel; and 56 days without raising the gasoline price. He also stated that the 15 adjustments made by the company resulted in 38 highs for consumers.

Bolsonaro followed this Sunday the final of the veterans’ internal football championship of a club in Brasília, in which his father-in-law was expected to participate. The press was banned by the club.