Lula revokes the privatization of Petrobras and seven other state companies

After the swearing in of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as president of Brazil, the president’s order determining the revocation of the acts that are underway for the privatization of Correos, EBC, was published in an extra edition of the Official Gazette (DOU). (Brazilian Communication Company), Dataprev (Social Security Technology and Information Company), Nuclep (Nuclebrás Equipamentos Pesados ​​SA), Serpro (Federal Data Processing Service); and the warehouses and properties of Conab (National Supply Company), Petrobras and PréSal Petróleo (Brazilian Oil and Natural Gas Administration Company).

According to the document, the objective of the measure is to “guarantee a rigorous analysis of the impacts of privatization on the public service or on the market in which the aforementioned economic activity is inserted,” reports the office.

Another Lula decree determines the adoption of measures, within 30 days, by the Minister of State of the Comptroller General of the Union to review the acts that imposed improper secrecy on publicly accessible documents.

Stock market of Brazil lost 40,702 million dollars

The Brazilian Stock Market lost 40.702 million dollars while the real depreciated this Monday, January 2, in what was the first verdict of the market to the new government of Inácio Lula da Silva.

The Bovespa stock index of the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange, which brings together the 91 most listed companies in the Brazilian market, fell 3.06% to 106,376 units, in what was its worst intraday loss since October 2022.

Shares of Petrobras, the Latin American nation’s state oil company, plunged 6.45% to 22.92 reais each. In market value, it lost 5.823 million dollars in the session.

The reaction in the oil company’s actions responds to the extension of a reduction in federal taxes on fuels decided by Lula, as well as the possibility that the company’s pricing policy may be modified, explained Gilberto Braga, a financial analyst in Rio de Janeiro. “There is a reading of the market that there will be an increasing interference in the guidelines of the state companies, a setback with respect to a more liberal leadership,” Braga said.

In addition, in one of his first government decisions published this Monday, Lula revoked the privatization processes of eight state companies, including Petrobras and Correos, initiated during the administration of Jair Bolsonaro.

For its part, the Brazilian real depreciated against the dollar by 1.47%, with the USD/BRL exchange rate closing at 5.3638 reais per dollar. The Bovespa index has fallen 7.13% since the elections on October 30, 2022. Carlos González, director of analysis at Monex Casa de Bolsa, assured that in the transition period there was uncertainty due to the announced monetary policies, which generated caution among investors.

(With information from Sebastián Díaz and Víctor Barragán)