Petrobras workers go on strike in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Unitary Federation of Petroleum Workers (FUP) and its affiliated unions will close this year in a national strike in protest against government threats of possible privatization of Petrobras, Brazil’s largest company, the association announced Wednesday.

According to Brazilian union rules, going on strike means that Petrobras workers, mostly affiliated with the FUP, are already on alert to rise if the Government decides to take the oil company out of State control.

“This means that if President Jair Bolsonaro dares to present to the National Congress the bill that foresees the sale of the state-owned company, the realization of one of the strongest strikes in the history of the sector is already signaled,” said Deyvid Bacelar, general coordinator of the (FUP).

According to a survey by the Intersyndical Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (Dieese), from March 2015 to November 2021, Petrobras sold 78 assets, 70 in Brazil and eight abroad.

Of this amount, 76% was sold during the Bolsonaro government, for a total of R$152 billion (US$26.7) billion.

“These sales reflect the will of the current government to destroy Petrobras, Brazilian assets, at a bargain price,” Bacelar laments.

However, the state-owned oil company has attributed the sale of a large part of its assets to the company’s strategic plan that seeks to reduce the company’s debt and concentrate its work on the coveted offshore areas of the pre-salt, the exploitation horizon that lies beneath a two-kilometer-thick layer of salt and whose gigantic reserves could turn Brazil into one of the world’s largest oil exporters.

The idea of privatizing Petrobras began to gain momentum last October due to the intense criticism that the Government has been receiving for the continuous increases in gasoline prices.

For this reason, Bolsonaro has indicated on several occasions his “desire” to sell Petrobras, a desire shared by his Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, who has already mentioned that the Government is considering selling part of its controlling stake in the state-owned oil company to finance social programs for families in vulnerable conditions.

Bolsonaro, in power since January 2019, was so far against the privatization of Petrobras – which is controlled by the State but has shares traded on the stock exchanges of São Paulo, New York, and Madrid – considering it “strategic” for the country.

However, a year away from the presidential elections, the ultra-right-wing leader has seen his popularity plummet amidst the high costs of electricity, gas, and fuels, which have triggered inflation in the South American powerhouse.

Brazil’s inflation reached 0.95% in November and accumulated 10.74% in the last 12 months, the highest year-on-year rate since November 2003, driven again by the increase in the price of gasoline, which has soared 50.7% in the last year.