While the president had repeatedly vowed to not intervene in the company, Luna’s name was not included in a list of government-appointed board members released late on Monday. Since Petrobras bylaws state that the CEO has to be a member of the board, the move essentially ousted Luna from the post.
As CEO, Pires will need to navigate domestic politics where fuel prices are a major campaign topic in an election year. Luna’s predecessor wasWhen Bolsonaro selected Luna, a general with no previous experience in oil who was considered close to the president, it caused concern that the state-controlled company would start spending billions of dollars subsidizing fuel like it did during the 2011-2014 oil boom. Shares plummeted and analysts rushed to slap sell ratings on the stock.
“What we can’t do, mustn’t do, is yield to the temptation of intervening in Petrobras’s prices, something that has only caused losses for Brazilians,” he wrote in an article published March 22 on website Poder360. He also defended the company’s asset sales and a push to boost competition in the refining sector.