Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has decided to replace the boss of Petrobras, Latin America’s biggest oil producer, for the second time in a year, following a dispute over rising fuel costs that are hurting his prospects of re-election.
The name of incumbent chief executive Joaquim Silva e Luna was missing from a list of board nominees submitted by the rightwing leader’s administration on Monday, effectively signalling the end of the tenure of the reserve-army general.
The government’s new choice of chief executive, economist Adriano Pires, is an energy expert with experience at the oil sector regulator and as an academic. He is set to be confirmed at a shareholder meeting in April.