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Bolsonaro swaps Brazil energy minister amid fuel-price flap

World Materials 12 May 2022 05:03 (UTC +04:00)
Bolsonaro swaps Brazil energy minister amid fuel-price flap

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro replaced his energy minister with a high-ranking Economy Ministry official on Wednesday in the latest sign of political turmoil over fuel-price hikes by state-run oil company Petrobras, Trend reports citing Reuters.

Adolfo Sachsida will step in as energy minister, replacing Bento Albuquerque, a retired admiral in the Brazilian navy who has been in the post since Bolsonaro took office in January 2019.

Albuquerque was sent packing because he resisted pressure to change the pricing policy at Petrobras or create major fuel subsidies, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Last week, Bolsonaro urged the state oil firm, formally named Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4.SA), not to raise fuel prices. He assailed the company's bumper profits at a time when Brazilians face rising pump prices, warning that further price hikes would provoke a "national convulsion."

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