01/21/2024 – 18:21
The Ministry of Mines and Energy formally appointed lawyer Renato Campos Galuppo to Petrobras' board of directors. The communication was made this Saturday, 20th, in a letter sent to the president of the committee, Pietro Sampaio Mendes. Galuppo was appointed to the vacancy opened with the resignation of Efrain Pereira da Cruz, who was number 2 in the ministry and was dismissed ten days ago.
Galuppo's appointment was formalized by minister Alexandre Silveira, who also announced that his name had undergone prior approval by the Civil House. Galuppo had his nomination for Petrobras rejected in March last year, due to his ties to the political party Cidadania.
Aides to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva do not, however, believe in a new denial. The government's intention is that the lawyer will not only remain in office for a “buffer” term, but will remain on the board after the ordinary general meeting scheduled for March, which will renew the committee members.
As shown by the Estadão This Saturday, the 20th, the departure of Efrain da Cruz heats up the dispute over who the new shareholder representatives will be.
Silveira has already communicated the government's intention to keep Pietro Sampaio Mendes, Bruno Moretti and Jean Paul Prates (the latter also president of the company) on Petrobras' board of directors. Vitor Saback, another member of the council who represents the government, also has a chance of being reappointed, according to the expectations of committee members. The government has not yet made the request for permanence in his case official.
Brasília must also send three names, which will form a triple list, from which one of them will be chosen by the council to fill another vacancy. This is how Sérgio Rezende, former Minister of Science and Technology (2005-2010) linked to the PSB and who has been on the board of Petrobras since April last year, was selected.
Renato Galuppo specializes in electoral law and was declared barred for having worked in the national directory of Cidadania until March 2022. In addition to violating Petrobras' internal rules, his appointment was also prohibited by the State Law, which imposes a three-year quarantine years for politicians or party leaders to occupy positions in state-owned companies and mixed-capital companies.
The government's understanding of this prohibition changed after a decision last year by the then Minister of the Federal Supreme Court Ricardo Lewandowski – now Minister of Justice -, suspending the effects of this section of the State Law by means of an injunction.
Lula's aides also remember that three names nominated by the government were rejected by Petrobras' governance and, even so, reached the board. They are: Efrain da Cruz, Sérgio Rezende and Pietro Sampaio Mendes. At the time, the Attorney General's Office of the National Treasury stated that it understood that Petrobras' governance opinions are advisory and that the council, which is controlled by the government, is sovereign to decide.
#Government #nominates #Petrobras #board #rejected #company
