The president was upset because La Paz reduced the delivery of fuel to his country by 30%: “It is a business to favor you know who” , he indicated in reference to Lula da Silva
Jair Bolsonaro’s statements on the sale of gas from Bolivia to Argentina
The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, was upset that Bolivia reduced the 30% delivery of gas to the South American giant to sell the fuel to Argentina and denounced that “Everything is orchestrated”.
“Bolivia cut off 30% of our gas to deliver it to Argentina. How did Petrobras act in this matter? It seems that everything is orchestrated. If you have to buy gas elsewhere, it is five times more expensive. Who’s going to pay the bill? Who will be responsible? It is a business that seems to me orchestrated to favor you know who”, said the Head of State, alluding to Lula da Silva, his main competitor in the upcoming elections.
The video of Bolsonaro’s statements was published on the president’s social networks.
Petrobras had reported last week that the amount of gas sent by Bolivia had been reduced as of May. “Such a reduction of the order of 30% was not foreseen and implies the need to import additional volumes of liquid natural gas to meet the supply needs of Petrobras“, indicated the company’s text.
Meanwhile, Bolivia and Argentina signed a new natural gas purchase agreement in larger volumes and at a better price last April.
According to the local newspaper La Razón, La Paz -with this treaty- expects to receive an additional USD 100 million from Argentina in a conservative scenario and much more in the best of cases.
Jair Bolsonaro (REUTERS/Adriano Machado)
The dismissal of the president of Petrobras after 40 days in office
The Brazilian government announced on Monday the replacement of José Mauro Ferreira Coelho, who had held the presidency of the state oil company Petrobras for forty days and was the third in office during the current government of the president , Jair Bolsonaro.
“Brazil is currently experiencing a challenging moment, as a consequence of the effects of the extreme volatility of hydrocarbons in international markets”, the Ministry justified the change in a statement of Mines and Energy.
“Various geopolitical factors known to all result in impacts not only on the price of gasoline and diesel, but on all energy components”< /b>, added the note.
According to the Ministry, “to maintain the necessary conditions for growth in employment and income for Brazilians” it is “necessary to strengthen the investment capacity of the private sector as a whole and work in a balanced scenario.”
Bolsonaro dismissed Petrobras president José Mauro Coelho on Monday after only 40 days in office, amid relentless pressure for fuel price increases (AFP/File)
To relieve Ferreira Coelho, the Government proposed the social communicator Caio Mario Paes de Andrade, adviser to the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, and with a postgraduate degree in administration and management from Harvard and a master’s degree in business administration from the American University of Duke< /b>.
The name of Paes de Andrade will be submitted to the company’s Board of Directors for final approval.
Before Ferreira Coelho was in charge during the current government of the economist Roberto Castello Branco and the reserve general Joaquim Silva e Luna.
On May 1, Bolsonaro also replaced his Minister of Mines and Energy, Admiral Bento Albuquerque, a few days after publicly criticizing him for allowing the oil company to announce a new increase in prices. of diesel.
The surprising change in the Cabinet took place just six days after the head of state launched harsh and public criticism of his then-minister and Ferreira Coelho , for the continuous adjustments in fuel prices.