The Ministry of Mines and Energy announced, this Tuesday (25), the appointment of Vice Admiral Anatalício Risden Jr. to the position of Brazilian director general of Itaipu. Currently on the binational’s financial directorate, Risden has the support of the Minister of Mines and Energy, Admiral Bento Albuquerque.
Risden will replace retired general João Francisco Ferreira, who resigned this Tuesday morning after receiving a call from the minister. In the conversation, the minister would have demanded greater commitment from the director-general of Itaipu in negotiations with Paraguayan partners.
After hearing criticism of his work, the general called a board meeting to announce his dismissal. To the employees, he claimed personal motivation for leaving.
Ferreira would be facing difficulties in negotiations with Paraguayan partners, including for setting the energy tariff and defining the 2022 budget.
In the phone call, the minister would have demanded greater proactivity from the general. According to collaborators, Ferreira even threatened to leave the position as early as this Tuesday, but was advised to wait for the appointment of his successor by President Jair Bolsonaro (PL). He shall remain in office until his replacement is designated in the Official Gazette.
Wanted to comment on the circumstances of Ferreira’s departure, the Ministry of Mines and Energy did not comment.
The management of Itaipu released, in a note, its request for exoneration. “General Ferreira is grateful for the support and commitment of the plant’s partners, especially the Itaipu Family, as it refers to the group of employees”, says the note.
A leaf found that Bento Albuquerque had already suggested Risden’s name to replace the former general director, General Joaquim Silva e Luna, who, in April 2021, left office to assume the presidency of Petrobras. It was Luna who nominated Ferreira for his place.
With a more discreet stance, Ferreira did not act politically like his predecessor. A BS in naval science, Risden, 62, was director of budget coordination for the Navy from 2008 to 2015, working in liaison with ministries and the National Congress.
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