Petrobras change of command will not change pricing policy, says expert

Economist Virginia Parente, a professor at USP’s Institute of Energy and Environment, said this Monday (23), in an interview with CNN , that the change in the presidency of Petrobras will not change the company’s pricing policy. That is, the replacement in charge of the company should not, by itself, result in cheaper fuels for the consumer.

“We keep asking ourselves how many changes will be necessary for the chip to sink in that it is not the change of a president that will change the company’s governance”, he said. This is because Petrobras, despite having the Brazilian government as its majority shareholder, is listed on stock exchanges in Brazil and abroad and, therefore, has other shareholders.

“It is not possible for a partner to force others to have a lower return. Unfortunately that cannot happen, because the company is listed on the stock exchange and the shareholders want the returns that are theirs,” she explained. “It is not possible to make sacrifice and kindness with someone else’s hat,” she warns.

If the new management insists on changing the pricing policy arbitrarily, they will be subject to several sanctions. “What we are going to see is what happened in previous administrations: it is a flurry of actions that not even the tenth generation of directors and board members will be able to pay in [pessoa] physical.”

In this way, the expert highlights that the new president’s main mission will be to establish “a stronger and faster negotiation with Congress to approve a stabilization fund”.

“We could have already approved a stabilization fund to avoid short-term fluctuations so that truck drivers and families can plan more. We could also act in a safer environment from an economic point of view to avoid a stronger exchange rate devaluation that ends up having an important impact on the price of fuel”, emphasizes the professor.