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Roberto Castello Branco was appointed CEO of Petroleo Brasileiro
SA, as the state-controlled firm is known, when Bolsonaro took
office at the start of 2019, and he has dealt periodically with
the president's complaints about prices.
While Bolsonaro has expressed sympathy for truckers threatening
to strike over higher diesel prices, Castello Branco said their
complaints are not the company's problem and insisted that
Petrobras will set prices independently of political pressure.
"He won't give in and he does not plan to leave," said one of
the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive
matters. "There was a time when the board of directors was
pro-government, and now it's independent."
On Thursday, Bolsonaro signaled his dissatisfaction with the
Petrobras CEO during an announcement about lower fuel taxes.
"The head of Petrobras said a few days ago: 'I don't have
anything to do with truckers.' That's what he said, the head of
Petrobras. That's going to have a consequence obviously,"
Bolsonaro said during a live video chat after markets closed.
Petrobras has been raising fuel prices since a Reuters report on
Feb. 5 disclosed details of its revised pricing policy, which
led analysts to downgrade the company' shares on concerns of
possible political interference.
"I can't and wouldn't interfere at Petrobras - even if something
will happen at Petrobras in the coming days," Bolsonaro said on
Thursday. "Something needs to change. It will happen."
(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Editing by Brad Haynes)
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