Economy

Bolsonaro’s boasting over fuel prices misleads voters

"Brazilian fuel is one of the cheapest in the world," said Jair Bolsonaro from London. Reality is more complicated, though. Photo: Jax10289/Shutterstock

During his trip to London to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro dropped by a gas station to compare fuel prices in the United Kingdom and Brazil.

“Gasoline price: GBP 1.61. That is approximately BRL 9.70 per liter. Practically double the average in many Brazilian states. So, it is a reality, Brazilian fuel is one of the cheapest in the world.”

É fácil comparar a situação do Brasil com todos os Países do mundo para sabermos se estamos no rumo certo.
O problema é que sequestraram a mídia e deixaram de discutir economia para discutir “palavrão”. pic.twitter.com/9FLQYT7pIK

— Fábio Faria 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷 (@fabiofaria) September 18, 2022

In absolute numbers, gasoline is, it is true, cheaper in Brazil. The problem with using nominal values for comparison is, uh, that Brazilians do not earn their living in pounds. According to Global Petrol Prices, Brazilians need to commit 7...

Amanda Audi and Ana Ferraz

Amanda Audi is a journalist specializing in politics and human rights. She is the former executive director of Congresso em Foco and worked as a reporter for The Intercept Brasil, Folha de S. Paulo, O Globo, Gazeta do Povo, Poder360, among others. In 2019, she won the Comunique-se Award for best-written media reporter and won the Mulher Imprensa award for web journalism in 2020