Petrobras doesn't just have to think about itself, but about Brazil, says Lula

The President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), said this Wednesday (27) that "Petrobras doesn't just have to think about Petrobras as a company", but "it has to think about Brazil".

Lula used a hypothetical example to argue that, even if the company has a higher cost in some of its operations, it must prioritize what is in the country's interests.

The statement was made during a ceremony to announce Petrobras' investments in Amazonas this Wednesday. Lula talked about the construction of barges, vessels designed to transport cargo on water.

"If it were just up to Petrobras, there would be a Petrobras director who would say: Why build a barge there in the Amazon? Will it cost US$ 10 million more than buying it in China?

Lula also stated that the government "does not control Petrobras", but "discusses Brazil's priorities" with the company. He argued that it is necessary to take into account "what Brazil needs".

"The government can appoint directors to the board, but it doesn't command Petrobras, but it discusses Brazil's priorities. It's not what Petrobras needs, it's also what Brazil needs. If we didn't build the barges here, we wouldn't create jobs, we wouldn't generate technological knowledge," he said.

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Lula criticized the privatization of state-owned companies. In the case of the privatization of Eletrobras, carried out under the government of former President of the Republic Jair Bolsonaro, he said it was "the biggest robbery in the history of this country".

"Can anyone explain to me what Brazil gained when they privatized BR? Is there an important columnist, a political scientist to explain it to me? What did they sell it for? In exchange for saying that they are good managers. Sometimes, they go on TV and say that the state initiative has corruption, that the state company is no good. And then they sell it. And often we believe that if we privatize it, it will be better", stated the President of the Republic.

And he added: "The privatization of Eletrobras was the biggest robbery in the history of this country. The biggest energy company we had was sold in the basin of souls."

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Source: CNN