Bolsonaro: “If successful, privatization of Petrobras will take 4 years”

President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) said this Monday (30) that the privatization process of Petrobras would last about four years. In an interview with the program Alerta Nacional, on Rede TV, presented by Sikêra Júnior, the president said that there is a “black box” in the company.

According to Bolsonaro, today Petrobras works as a “semi-state company with a monopoly”.

“The privatization of Petrobras, if all goes well, will take 4 years. It is very complicated, what Petrobras cannot do is be a semi-state company with a monopoly in Brazil.”

Bolsonaro criticized Petrobras’ profit and said he did not understand, in detail, how international price parity works. According to him, there should be more transparency in the device, which means that the value of the oil sold by the company follows the international markets.

“We have now changed the Minister of Mines and Energy and we are looking to change the president of Petrobras. What we do know is that there is a black box. Often, you don’t have information. The thing about international price parity: we want to know the mechanics of it. […] From the looks of it, this parity doesn’t need to be registered automatically, it has a space of up to one year. At the end of the year, you make an arrival account with a view to Petrobras’ profit and a part goes to the Federal Government. I don’t want to put R$22 billion in my pocket every three months, I want to give it back to the people.”

“Every time I do something the press says I’m interfering,” he added.

In the interview, the president also commented on the decision of the ANS that authorized a 15% increase for health plans.

“The National Health Agency has increased health plans now. I have already contacted parliamentarians. A parliamentarian from Espírito Santo, Mrs. [Soraya] Manato (PTB), filed a bill in the Chamber. Increase 15% of the health plan? I was going to say a bad word here, but I won’t. Is not fair.”