Good morning! We’re covering the government’s efforts to avoid a crisis motivated by increasing oil prices. How Jair Bolsonaro will change the Brazilian Justice system. And new deforestation data—and an exclusive weather analysis of Brazil’s big cities. (This newsletter is for premium subscribers only. Become one now!)
Brazil studying ways to prevent a hike in fuel prices
Bento Albuquerque, the head of Brazil’s Mines and Energy Ministry, said on Monday that the government is working on solutions to avoid a massive hike in fuel prices in the country. Since the beginning of the year, Brent crude prices—the international benchmark for the commodity—are up nearly 4 percent, following a U.S. airstrike that killed Iran’s top military official.
Why it matters. Over 60 percent of all cargo in Brazil is transported by trucks. Meaning that fuel prices can raise costs for entire production chains, pushing inflation up as a result and threatening Brazil’s still-ailing economy. Not to mention that higher diesel prices could trigger another truckers’ strike, in the molds of the one that halted Brazil for 11 days in 2018.
Pressure. Truck drivers’ trade unions are aware of their leverage and have mobilized against hikes in diesel prices. They have been...