Senator activates CVM against political appointment at Petrobras, and unions defend lax rules – 10/24/2023 – Market

Senator Alessandro Vieira (MDB-SE) entered this Tuesday (24) with representation at the CVM (Securities Commission) against a proposed change in Petrobras’ statute. The measure could facilitate political appointments.

Petrobras, on another front, received support from oil tanker entities. They claim that current rules restrict the participation of union leaders in command of state-owned companies.

The proposed change was announced this Monday (23), contributing to lowering the market value of the state-owned company by R$32.3 billion in a single day, given the fear of a greater risk of political interference without its management.

The drop in shares was 6.6%. This Tuesday, the company’s shares rose 1.27%, but the value did not recover the previous day’s losses. The share closed at R$35.80 this Tuesday compared to R$35.35 on the day of the company’s announcement.

The change in the statute was presented by the president of the council, the Secretary of Oil and Gas of the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy), Pietro Mendes, and approved with the support of the advisors appointed by the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) government and rejection of the representatives of minority shareholders.

“The changes are negative for the company, as they reduce transparency and open space for political appointments or those with conflicts of interest”, Senator Alessandro Vieira said this Tuesday to Sheet.

In his representation to the CVM, he requests an investigation into the board of the state-owned company and suspension of directors who were elected based on the injunction of the then minister of the STF (Supreme Federal Court) Ricardo Lewandowski who suspended the effects of the Law on State-Owned Companies.

The injunction was used by the government to justify the election to the board of the state-owned company of Mendes himself, the executive secretary of the MME, Efrain Cruz, and Sergio Machado Rezende, a former union leader, whose appointments were questioned by internal governance bodies. .

For the first two, the committee that analyzes resumes saw the possibility of a conflict of interest between their positions in the government and in the administration of the state-owned company.

The third had not completed the 36-month quarantine after leaving his party post, a seal later overturned by Lewandowski.

Vieira argues that the injunction is not yet a definitive view of the STF on the matter and, if the plenary decides to maintain the understanding, the counselors can be reinstated.

Union representatives, however, came out in defense of the changes. Affiliated to the CUT (Central Única dos Trabalhadores), the FUP (Federação Única dos Petroleiros) stated that the imposition of quarantines on party or union leaders is unconstitutional.

“We are back to constitutionality at Petrobras,” stated the entity’s general coordinator, Deyvid Bacelar. Linked to the FUP, the workers’ representative on the council, Rosângela Buzaneli, cast one of the votes in favor of the change.

“Unions and political parties play a fundamental role in representing workers’ interests and citizen participation,” stated Anapetro, an association of oil workers who are shareholders of the state-owned company.

“Restricting their actions weakens one of the main mechanisms of democratic participation in civil society, leading to a reduction in workers’ representation and voice in the political process,” he said.

The entity speaks of “excessive rigor” of the current legislation, “with a clear perspective of removing from the management of state-owned companies people who have worked in a party structure, electoral campaign or who hold a union position.”

In a note distributed on Monday, after the negative repercussion of the proposal, Petrobras stated that it will continue to follow the State Law.