Minister insists on taking Bolsonaristas to the Lula government and irritates PT – 03/02/2023 – Market

The movements of the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, in the search for positions for former members of the Bolsonarist government cause estrangement and discontent among members and allies of the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

Also noteworthy is his proximity to the former minister of his portfolio during the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL), Admiral Bento Albuquerque, who attended Silveira’s inauguration and has already visited him in the ministry. He is seen in the energy sector as a kind of informal adviser to Silveira.

Mineiro, the minister is affiliated with the PSD of Gilberto Kassab, secretary of government of Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) in the state of São Paulo, and ally of the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG). In the energy sector, what is said is that he has been pressured to expand space for the PSD and its allies in the government, but he has had difficulties.

In the most recent action, at the end of Monday night (27), Silveira imposed his list of nominees for Petrobras’ board of directors, generating criticism within the company itself and among unions allied with the government. The minister would have four of the eight names indicated by the Union.

His name to chair the company’s board is Pietro Mendes, who was Bento Albuquerque’s secretary when he was a minister.

The FUP (Federação Único dos Petroleiros) even released a harsh note questioning the nominations. In the text, the entity’s general coordinator, Deyvid Bacelar, says that they are names “linked to Bolsonarism, the financial market and in favor of privatizations”.

A member of the new government’s transition group for the energy area, Bacelar questioned in an interview with Sheet the absence of nominations more aligned with President Lula — his only name on the list is the president of the state-owned company, Jean Paul Prates.

“How is it that Lula, the president of the country, is not going to have a name on the board of Petrobras?”, he criticized. The elaboration of the list had already been the target of clashes between the minister, petistas and unionists.

The list generated discomfort even among those around Prates, who hurried to place the responsibility for the names on the minister. It should be questioned in the internal control bodies due to possible conflicts of interest and the lack of experience of some of the nominees in the sector.

This Wednesday (1st), the government reacted. He announced a change in the list of nominees to the board and the postponement of the shareholders’ meeting that will elect the board, signaling that he will make further changes.

Economist Bruno Moretti was included in the list. Legislative consultant close to the PT bench, he held positions in ministries during the Dilma Rousseff government and advised the president of Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates, in the drafting of a bill.

It has a position aligned with the government in relation to the fuel price policy of the state-owned company. In an interview with Rádio PT in March 2022, he defended that an integrated Petrobras can balance losses and gains between the areas of oil exploration and refining.

“These private agents that are not integrated will charge higher prices,” he said, referring to private companies that negotiated refineries of the state-owned company. In fact, the case of Amazonas shows that prices skyrocketed after privatization.

It was not the first time that the minister caused this type of discomfort, nor that he supported names linked to Bento Albuquerque.

Silveira wants Bruno Eustáquio for the position of executive secretary of the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy). Eustáquio is a server with more than a decade of experience in the infrastructure area, including energy, oil and gas. However, he gained prominence in Bolsonarist management. He was deputy secretary of the portfolio when the admiral was a minister and later executive secretary of the Ministry of Infrastructure.

The name was vetoed by the Civil House and by the president of the PT, Gleisi Hoffmann. On the issue, Gleisi told the Sheet that allies need to have common sense when climbing positions of trust in the current political moment.

Silveira even resorted to Lula in an attempt to sign his chosen one, but even so he was unable to guarantee the release. Two months after the beginning of the new government, Silveira still has not named his executive secretary. The reading in the energy sector is that he keeps the pace of waiting on this issue while reinforcing the offensive for positions now in state-owned companies.

Also noteworthy are the movements involving Itaipu and, by extension, ENBPar, a state-owned company created to take over the binational and Eletronuclear plant in place of Eletrobras after its privatization. The still unknown ENBPar trades energy from Itaipu.

Both are still waiting for new managers and are commanded by members of the Navy. In the position of general director of Itaipu is the vice-admiral of the Navy, Anatalicio Risden Junior. Vice Admiral Ney Zanella chairs the ENBPar,

The choice of command of Itaipu is a prerogative of the President of the Republic. But the official rite provides that the name is forwarded by the MME to the ENBPar, which in turn sends it to the Itaipu board of directors for analysis, which can be summoned at any time.

At the end of January, Lula chose deputy Ênio Verri for the post. But the bureaucratic procedure has been slower than normal, according to industry sources. The expectation is that the inauguration will take place only in the second half of March.

With this delay, Bolsonarist management ended up having the privilege of promoting the act that marked the payment of the last installment of the debt contracted in the 1980s for the construction of the plant, which takes place this month. Silveira confirmed his presence at the event scheduled for Tuesday (28) and invited Verri to accompany him. It was scheduled that both would travel together at 7 am that day for the celebration.

People who follow the routine at Itaipu saw Silveira’s gesture as a symbolic double act. Give prestige to Risden, who is linked to Bento Albuquerque, and show his goodwill towards the new government, and, at the same time, present Verri so that a sensible transition in command can begin.

It so happened that the meetings for the reencumbrance of fuels were prolonged, and Silveira was imprisoned in Brasília. He uploaded a video to the event. Verri decided not to go. According to Sheet found out, the future director-general considered it strange to say the least that the Bolsonarist management had the privilege of promoting the historic act.

What is said in the sector is that Bento works behind the scenes to maintain influence in these state-owned companies, particularly to guarantee projects that he considers vital, such as the construction of the Angra 3 nuclear power plant, which depends on many procedures and high figures. Thus, he strengthened ties with Silveira in search of support.

Bento Albuquerque, for example, suggested to Silveira, and he accepted, the informal help of Marisete Dadald, who was his executive secretary at the MME. There are those who say that it is Silveira’s Plan B, in case Eustáquio is really not accepted by the current government.

Marisete went to the ministry in person to collaborate. This support bothered energy sector executives and caused embarrassment to the folder’s servers for being described as reckless. No one questions her competence, however, she worked for the privatization of Eletrobras and is now on the company’s board. She could not have access to the folder’s information, which is strategic.

OTHER SIDE

“There is no pure-blood government”, says Bento Albuquerque

The MME advisory stated that the portfolio is in line with the Lula government.

“The appointments within the scope of the Ministry of Mines and Energy follow the guidelines established by the government and with total alignment. There is no mention of vetoes or obstructions to the appointments made to the folder and its related ones”, stated the written response.

The advisory did not comment on the relationship between Silveira and Bento Albuquerque and, in relation to Marisete’s collaboration, said that the portfolio receives informal support at the beginning of the management.

“Due to the moment of transition, some civil servants have voluntarily collaborated in this process in support of the Ministry of Mines and Energy”, he pointed out.

Admiral Bento Albuquerque praised Silveira’s performance, but stated that it is “an inference, without concrete basis,” to say that he seeks his support. He said he met the current minister about two years ago, in the parliamentary environment.

“My relationship with Minister Silveira dates back to when he was a senator, and this relationship has always been very good,” said Bento Albuquerque. “He attended the Ministry of Mines and Energy, including dealing with bills of interest to us and leading the agenda in the Senate, and in that relationship he got to know Marisete, Bruno and everyone else.”

The former minister claims he has no political interests in state-owned companies and that the Navy has historical work in the nuclear area that goes far beyond individual pretensions and a short-term agenda in this area.

“Anyone who makes this type of analogy shows ignorance about the Brazilian nuclear program, which was born in 1954 in the hands of Admiral Álvaro Alberto. It’s been 70 years. So, people trained in the Navy naturally go to companies like Eletronuclear,” he said.

He reinforces the importance of Angra 3, but recalls that it is not an individual proposal of his own.

“The need for Angra 3 was not created during my management, not my wish”, he said. “It has been about to be completed for ten years, and in the country’s energy expansion plan it is considered by sector technicians to be important for Brazil’s energy security.”

The admiral also stated that there are no “pure-blooded governments” and that he considers it natural that supporters of a government defeated at the polls can support the winning government.

“Is this not a coalition government? Several parties that are part of this coalition were in a way at the base of the Bolsonaro government and are now working to build the future of this government and the country. There is no problem with that.”

In response to the report, Marisete stated that her support for the current minister did not occur at the request of any former director of the portfolio and that it was of a technical nature, without having access to sensitive information.

“My support for Minister Alexandre was only for the purpose of presenting information on the sector’s operating structure and monitoring the transition phase, since I have worked in the portfolio since the first Lula government, having the history of public policies implemented since so,” he wrote to Sheet.

“I also inform you that, during this transition period, I had no access or influence in matters concerning the electricity sector.”

The president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco praised the minister’s work at the beginning of his term.

“Alexandre Silveira is a highly qualified staff and understands the importance of technical collaborators in the ministry portfolios”, he told Sheet. “I don’t have details about his specific choices. I trust he will do a good job and help the government and Brazil.”