Brasil

April 1st, 2022

VOLVER

1. Moro gives up on his candidacy for president. Doria continues to run

On Thursday, former judge Sergio Moro announced that he dropped out of the presidential elections. The announcement was made during a ceremony to officialize his União Brasil membership, as well as his electoral move from Paraná to São Paulo.

João Doria, on the other hand, is staying in the race. There were rumors that the PSDB national board of directors would choose Eduardo Leite as the party’s candidate. Doria must resign from the São Paulo state government by Saturday, April 2nd, to be eligible to run in the election.

CNN Brasil: Bruno Araújo diz que o candidato do PSDB à Presidência é Doria
G1: Presidente do PSDB divulga nota e diz que Doria é o nome do partido para disputa presidencial
Valor Econômico:  Moro desiste de candidatura a presidente ‘neste momento’

2. Ten ministers resign to run in the elections

This week, ten ministers from the Bolsonaro administration have resigned so that they can run in the general elections in October.

The most notable change is that former Infrastructure Minister Tarcísio de Freitas will be replaced by Executive Secretary of Infrastructure Marcelo Sampaio. Freitas will run for state governor of São Paulo.

Marcos Pontes, who was the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation also left his post to run for federal representative in São Paulo. Pontes will be replaced by Paulo Alvim, former Secretary of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the ministry.

G1: Governo publica dez substituições de ministros que devem ser candidatos em outubro; veja lista
Poder360: 10 ministros deixam seus cargos na 5ª; conheça os substitutos
Folha de S. Paulo: Ministros pré-candidatos vão à TV se promover, elogiar Bolsonaro e atacar adversários

3. Final days before deadline to change parties encourages shifts in politics

Members of Congress are enjoying the last few days in which They are allowed to change parties without losing their mandate. The deadline is April 1st. According to a study by G1, at least 10% of Congress members have changed parties.

April 2nd is the deadline to resign from office to run in the general elections in October. As a result, 10 ministers from the federal government have already resigned.

These moves stall activities in Congress and delay a series of decisions, including the establishment of committees in the Chamber of Deputies.

G1: Em 20 dias de janela partidária, mais de 10% dos deputados trocam de partido na Câmara
Tribunal Superior Eleitoral: Prazos importantes do Calendário Eleitoral vencem esta semana
Folha de S. Paulo: Saiba quem deixa prefeituras e governos para disputar as eleições

4. Petrobras warns foreign investors about pricing policy

On Wednesday, Petrobras released a statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission to issue a warning about an upcoming change to the company’s pricing policy.

According to Petrobras, there is a possibility of the Brazilian government intervening in prices, aiming to contain fuel prices and curb damages to President Jair Bolsonaro’s image as he prepares to run for reelection.

The current policy was put in place during Michel Temer’s administration in 2016, going against the pricing policy of his predecessor Dilma Rousseff. The market considered Rousseff’s administration to be too involved in the pricing of oil.

Presently, the company aims to equate prices of fuel in Brazil with those of the international market.

Valor Econômico: Petrobras alerta a estrangeiros que Bolsonaro pode impor mudanças na política de preços
O Globo: Petrobras alerta a investidores que Bolsonaro pode mudar política de preços dos combustíveis
Folha de S.Paulo: Petrobras alerta que política de preços pode mudar em documento a investidores

5. Real goes up and could end the quarter with its best results since 2009

The price of the Brazilian real went up in the first three months of 2022 when compared to the American dollar. This could be the currency’s best performance in a quarter since the second quarter of 2009.

With the dollar valued at less than R$ 4.75, the increased value of the real is seen by economists as a consequence of higher basic interest rates, which climbed from 2% to 11.75%.

G1: Dólar acumula maior desvalorização trimestral contra o real desde 2009
Folha de S. Paulo:
Dólar volta a cair e caminha para maior queda trimestral desde 2009
Valor Econômico:
Real em alta muda cenário dos balanços