Dismissal surprised Bento Albuquerque, say military and government sources

Admiral Bento Albuquerque had not expected his resignation from the command of the Ministry of Mines, according to some government officers who had been interviewed in a reserved manner by the CNN .

According to government advisors, President Jair Bolsonaro’s (PL) decision surprised the military, who was discussing measures to avoid truck drivers’ stoppages in the country.

According to a decree published in the Official Gazette (DOU) this Wednesday (11), Bento Albuquerque was dismissed, upon request, and Adolfo Sachsida was appointed to the position. Jair Bolsonaro would have informed Bento Albuquerque about his resignation on Monday (9) afternoon, according to the president’s allies informed the news agency. CNN .

The meeting between Bolsonaro and Bento would have taken place at Palácio do Planalto and was not recorded on either of them’s agenda. THE CNN tried to contact Bento Albuquerque and his advisors, but they did not respond. THE CNN also looked for the Planalto Palace and awaits return.

According to a source at Palácio do Planalto who met with Bento after the meeting with the president on Monday, he was depressed, but he accepted the decision without further questioning and kept his resignation under wraps while he continued working.

This Tuesday (10), according to technicians from the ministry, Bento even discussed with the Palácio do Planalto a possible expansion of the freight correction table.

At the beginning of the night, in conversation with the CNN the minister said that the federal government would provide “the necessary answers” ​​to the category of truck drivers, dissatisfied with the new increase in the price of diesel.

“We have always worked and are working to provide the best conditions for this vital category for the country. The work is permanent and we are going to give the necessary answers to the category”, he told CNN hours before the publication of the exemption in the Official Gazette.

Choice of new name

As soon as the notice was given to Bento, the government began the search for a replacement. On the afternoon of this Monday, Bolsonaro met with the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, to discuss the matter.

The name of the then head of the Special Advisory for Economic Studies Adolfo Sachsida was put on the table, but according to sources from the Planalto Palace, they told the CNN other names were also considered.

For this reason, the decision on the new name would only be taken on Tuesday and the change in the ministry would only appear in the Official Gazette this Wednesday (11).

Bolsonaro’s interlocutors say that the option for Sachsida has a technical and political character and recall that the president repeated the move he made when changing the command of Petrobras by removing General Silva e Luna from the command of the state company.

Fuel prices and the change in the ministry

The movement would be political because Bolsonaro ends up pointing out – and taking from the government – ​​another person responsible for the rise in fuel prices.

On Monday, the day on which Bento Albuquerque would have been informed of his resignation, Petrobras announced that it had readjusted the sale price of diesel to distributors. Now, the fuel cost R$ 4.91, and no longer R$ 4.51, per liter, representing a variation of 8.8%.

With the change in the ministry, Bolsonaro outsources responsibilities on an issue that affects voters’ pockets and consequently hinders their chances of reelection. And he would give satisfaction to self-employed truck drivers that the president was not satisfied with the increase in diesel, according to government officials interviewed by the CNN .

Another motivation would be to try to advance measures with a direct impact on the pump, such as the creation of a price stabilization fund, a measure that was met with resistance from the Mines and Energy command.

In addition, the replacement, with such speed, would prevent any movement by Centão to try to occupy the position. It took less than 48 hours between the dismissal and the announcement of the replacement.

And, finally, he puts in office a technician who is politically aligned with the government, but above all someone trusted by the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, considered victorious in the replacement for simultaneously managing to eliminate a military man from the government and stop the advance of the political wing on an area crucial to the Brazilian economy.

Fuel price lag

The increase in diesel, according to government officials, has not fully recovered the lag in the price of fuel, which, according to calculations made by presidential advisers, is still around 10%.

The same has happened with gasoline. The calculation made by members of the government is that the gasoline lag could reach up to 15% of the price adopted by the world market today, which could lead Petrobras to announce a readjustment in the medium term.

The transfer of the partial diesel lag, according to government officials, was not what displeased the president the most. The dissatisfaction was due to the speed with which the new president of the company passed on the increase.

According to palatial advisors, with the change in command of Petrobras, Bolsonaro expected that José Coelho would only announce an increase in the medium or long term.