Good morning! The Jair Bolsonaro government has interfered with Petrobras’ fuel pricing policies. Corruption allegations against the House Speaker. The cost of retired civil servants in Brazil.
Are fuel price controls back in Brazil?
When the new government took over on January 1, it promised to shield Petrobras from political interference. But, fearing the risk of disgruntled truckers calling a strike, the administration asked the state-owned oil and gas company to withhold a coming 5.7% bump in diesel prices (a hike larger than in all of February).
The change was published on Petrobras’ website but was later rectified. The company, however, reinforced its commitment to its policy of reflecting international prices.
This is not the first time the government has interfered with Petrobras pricing to avoid a possible truckers’ strike. A few weeks ago, Petrobras decided that new prices will be calculated every 15 days—instead of weekly. At the time, disgruntled truck drivers—who complained about more expensive fuels since the beginning of the year—threatened to call another stoppage. Fuels were one of the driving forces of March’s high inflation (0.75%).
While it is understandable that the government would want to avoid a new truckers’ strike, the move bears a worrisome...