Guedes and trade unionists exchange barbs about Petrobras

The act of delivering the official request to start studies for the privatization of Petrobras and PPSA (Pré-Sal Petróleo SA) ended in a disagreement between trade unionists and the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, this Thursday morning (12).

The new Minister of Mines and Energy, Adolfo Sachsida, met with Guedes at the Economics headquarters to present a letter requesting the studies, and at the end of the meeting both went down to the entrance to speak to the press.

A small group of protesters interrupted the statements saying that the privatization of the company would be “a crime against the Brazilian people”, which the Minister of Economy countered by saying that he did not want to talk about “who stole Petrobras, robbed Petrobras”.

“I wanted everyone to know that we always respect, we are in a democracy, we respect the winners of elections. When someone… I don’t want to talk about who stole Petrobras, robbed Petrobras. For years they stole, they were convicted. I don’t want to I simply want to receive, as a government program that had 60 million votes, to receive the request of the new Minister of Mines and Energy and forward the process”, said Guedes.

Afterwards, the unionists stated that the privatization of the company would be the “destruction of the assets of the Brazilian people”, to which the Minister of Economy again replied: “We are going to give back to the Brazilian people what is theirs.”

The group of trade unionists was on the outskirts of the Ministry of Economy asking for salary readjustments. The negotiating table was the first demand made to Guedes, who also replied in a tone of dialogue that the special secretary for Debureaucratization, Management and Digital Government, Caio Paes de Andrade, was meeting with the categories.

Tensions increased when Sachsida cited studies for the privatization of Petrobras.

“Here is my first act as Minister of Mines and Energy, the formal request to start studies aimed at starting the privatization process of PPSA and Petrobras. I hope that in the fastest possible period of time we will have this resolution ready and we take it to President Jair Bolsonaro to sign this decree and start this process”, he said.

The new minister also said that the measure would promote “the liberation of the Brazilian people against monopolies”.

Regarding the MME’s request, the Minister of Economy said that he intends to speed up the process.

“I immediately forward it to the special secretariat of the PPI (Investment Partnership Program) to make a resolution ad referendum [para] to start their studies. This should be done today, and we will continue the studies for PPSA and then the case of Petrobras”, said Guedes.

PPI decisions are taken within the scope of the Council of Ministers, but urgent matters or matters of relevant interest may be subject to deliberation ad referendum, that is, without prior collegiate voting. The decision, however, needs to be validated at the first subsequent board meeting.