Petrobras weighs options for Polo Bahia onshore fields, including sale, says CEO
The Polo Bahia hub, consisting of some 28 onshore fields, was previously listed for sale under former President Jair Bolsonaro's divestment strategy. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pulled it off the market after he took office in 2023 and ended Bolsonaro's divestment strategy.
Chambriard said the current operation at the Polo Bahia produces very little oil but requires significant effort. Extracting from those onshore fields was more viable when oil prices were higher, at $90-$100 per barrel, than it is at the current $65 per barrel, she added.
"This is on our table and we haven't decided yet what we're going to do, whether to keep it with us, outsource the operation or transfer the asset. It's on the table, we're studying it and we're going to do what's best and most profitable for us and our shareholders," Chambriard said during the Strategic Forum for the Brazil-China Naval Industry in Rio de Janeiro.
Asked if the company could replicate this analysis for its Urucu operation in Amazonas state, Chambriard declined to comment on potential divestment plans, and said Urucu produces "the best oil, the most valued."
Also on Saturday, Brazilian and Chinese shipyards signed memorandums of understanding to foster technological and commercial collaborations, aligning with increased demand for Petrobras vessels.
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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘God chose you, Jair Bolsonaro!' Is Brazil now in the grip of evangelicals?
Petra Costa was rewatching footage of what has become a historic speech made in 2021 by Jair Bolsonaro, the then Brazilian president, when suddenly she noticed something that went largely unnoticed at the time. Addressing thousands of supporters in São Paulo, the far-right leader lashed out at a supreme court justice, and said he would only leave the presidency 'in prison or dead'. This statement is now cited as evidence against Bolsonaro, who is currently on trial, accused of attempting a coup to overturn his 2022 election defeat to current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro denies these allegations. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. But what caught Costa's eye in the footage was Bolsonaro's gaze. As he shouted into the microphone, the paratrooper-turned-populist repeatedly looked – seemingly seeking validation – at one particular man in his entourage: the televangelist Silas Malafaia. In response, the evangelical leader appeared to be lip-syncing along to the president's every word. 'I watched the scene many times,' says film-maker Costa, 'and the only conclusion I can draw is that Malafaia wrote Bolsonaro's speech. If not, how could he have known every word?' This footage provides a compelling moment in the 41-year-old's new documentary, Apocalypse in the Tropics. Oscar-nominated for The Edge of Democracy, her previous film about Brazil's descent into populism, Costa this time explores the growing influence of evangelical leaders in the country's political process. 'This film is about Brazil,' she says, 'but the story is part of a global phenomenon of religious motivations undermining democracies. We've seen the rise of religious fundamentalism joined by a nationalist, conservative and extremist agenda all over the world – from the US to Russia.' In many ways, the new film is a continuation of the critically acclaimed previous documentary, which charted the unravelling of the democratic fabric of Latin America's largest country with rare, behind-the-scenes access to key moments in recent politics, including the rise to power of backbench congressman Bolsonaro. Now, through the lens of what she describes as the growing influence of Christian religious fundamentalism, Costa updates that story, covering events such as the January 2023 riot in which Bolsonaro supporters ransacked the presidential palace, Congress and the supreme court. As investigations by the federal police and the public prosecutor's office later concluded, the uprising was allegedly the climax of a coup attempt that began while Bolsonaro was still in power. A central figure in Apocalypse in the Tropics is 66-year-old Malafaia, one of Brazil's most prominent preachers, with whom Costa and her team, which includes producer Alessandra Orofino, conducted about a dozen interviews. Although Bolsonaro had contact with many other Christian leaders during his four-year term, the film-maker believes none wielded as much influence over the president as Malafaia. In 2022, the evangelist even joined the Brazilian president's delegation to London for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral. 'Next to him,' she says, 'Bolsonaro almost seems diminished – like a child in front of a master.' In September 2018, just two days after being elected, Bolsonaro took to the stage at Malafaia's church, greeted by chants of 'Myth! Myth!', as he is known, from the hundreds of worshippers present. Before handing the microphone to him, Malafaia paraphrased a passage from Corinthians, saying: 'God chose the foolish things to shame the wise … God chose the lowly things, those of little value, the despised, the discarded, those that are nothing … to shame the things that are – so that no flesh may boast before Him. That's why God chose you!' He then pointed to Bolsonaro, who listened with a furrowed brow. Apocalypse in the Tropics also captures a private meeting between the two, inside the presidential office, in which the preacher recalls officiating at Bolsonaro's wedding. The far-right leader identifies as Catholic but his wife, Michelle, is a Baptist. Malafaia says: 'We were waiting for the bride … and this guy came up to me. I say 'this guy' because we're friends … and said, 'Malafaia, I'm going to run for president.' And I said, 'Are you out of your mind?' … I left thinking, 'This guy is crazy.'' Shortly after, Costa asks the president if he will follow through on his promise to nominate someone 'terribly evangelical' to a vacant supreme court seat. 'Yes,' he replies. 'Many people come to us with fantastic CVs, but the first requirement is to be evangelical. And, of course, after that, also having legal knowledge.' Bolsonaro kept his promise, appointing another preacher to the court. In fact, such was the religious influence over Bolsonaro's administration that Costa found herself wondering if Brazil was turning into a theocracy – a process she believes was halted by Lula's election, although the risk, with new elections coming next year, 'remains very much alive'. Although the former president is barred from running until 2030 by an electoral court ruling, polls suggest that any candidates backed by him – including his wife or one of his sons – could pose a serious challenge to Lula, who has already confirmed he will seek re-election. We approached Bolsonaro about all the claims in this article but his team did not respond. The film weaves together interviews, archive footage and Costa's narration, accompanied by closeups of apocalyptic paintings such as the depictions of the Last Judgment by Fra Angelico and Hans Memling. The rise of evangelicals in Brazil is described as 'one of the fastest religious shifts in human history'. In recent years, alongside a congress that grows more conservative with each election, gospel singers and religious influencers have become superstars, while Brazil's still immensely popular telenovelas, or soaps, have increasingly incorporated evangelical characters and storylines into their plots. Some experts even predict that Protestants, Baptists, Pentecostals and neo-Pentecostals will at some point become the majority in Brazil – the country with the largest Catholic population in the world. The documentary says they are now 'over 30%' of the population, although new census data released last month – after the film had been finalised – showed they make up only 27%, which nonetheless marks a significant increase since 1970, when they were 5.2%. Catholics declined from 91% to 57% over the same period. As they make up more than a quarter of the population, evangelicals represent a major challenge for any non-conservative candidate, such as President Lula, who faces deep resistance from them. Apocalypse in the Tropics depicts an exchange between a mother and her teenage daughter inside their home, during Brazil's 2018 presidential campaign. The mother says she plans to vote for Bolsonaro 'because he's a man of God'. She adds that Lula, although 'also a man of God', is 'from Candomblé' – an Afro-Brazilian religion that faces persecution from some Christian groups. In reality, Lula is Catholic, but he has expressed support for Afro-Brazilian faiths. The mother then asks her daughter to look up a photo of Lula 'receiving the sword of Xangô'. In fact, it was an axe – a symbol of the orixá, a divine spirit associated with justice. It was a gift to Lula from a university rector in 2017. As the girl begins typing 'Lula' on her phone, the autocomplete turns up phrases such as 'being consecrated to the devil' and 'supports unisex bathrooms'. The film is not, however, intended as a critique of any specific religion, says Costa, but rather of the 'political manipulation of faith, which poses one of the greatest threats to democracies around the world'. She recalls witnessing firsthand how the church can positively influence people's lives, citing preachers who provided 'physical, emotional and spiritual care' in favelas during the pandemic, offering food, jobs and even paying for ambulances. 'What we need is a more nuanced perspective,' Costa concludes. 'There won't be a war in which good defeats evil, not from the right, nor from the left. There must be dialogue – and that's complex and difficult.' Apocalypse in the Tropics is on limited release in UK cinemas on 11 July, and available on Netflix on 14 July
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
Brazil's XP sues short seller Grizzly Research in New York, alleges defamation
NEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - The Brazilian fintech company XP (XP.O), opens new tab filed a U.S. lawsuit on Monday accusing the short seller Grizzly Research of defamation over a March 12 report, opens new tab accusing XP of running a "Madoff-like Ponzi scheme." In a complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan, XP said it suffered more than $100 million in harm to its business and reputation from the report, with many longtime clients, investors and business partners withdrawing their funds. It accused Grizzly and its owner Siegfried Eggert of "brazenly, maliciously, and recklessly" publishing the report, with a goal of driving down XP's stock price so they could profit on short positions. Grizzly could not be immediately reached by phone or email after business hours, and its website was not accepting messages seeking comment on the lawsuit. Lawyers for XP did not immediately respond to requests for alternative contact information. XP's press office in Brazil declined to comment. Short sellers sell borrowed shares that they hope to repurchase later at lower prices, to replenish lenders, and pocket the difference in price. Other short sellers have been sued in the United States over their alleged defamatory reports. In its report, Grizzly said XP's alleged Ponzi scheme involved derivatives sales to retail clients, which were then funneled through special funds and misrepresented as proprietary trading profit. Grizzly said the alleged scheme was "likely to involve nefarious activities," and XP would be unprofitable without it. XP called Grizzly's claims of impropriety "demonstrably false" because its Gladius and Coliseu funds were proprietary and had no outside investors, and the challenged transactions complied with applicable Brazilian law. Shares of XP fell 5.5% to $14.14 on March 12 in New York. They closed down 32 cents at $19.48 on Monday. The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Madoff refers to the late swindler Bernard Madoff. The case is XP inc et al v Grizzly Research LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 25-05564.
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- The Guardian
Trump says Bolsonaro ‘not guilty of anything' amid Brazil coup trial
Donald Trump has issued his strongest defence to date of Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro, claiming the far-right leader is the victim of a 'witch-hunt' in his home country. Posting on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday, the US president claimed that Bolsonaro – often dubbed the 'Trump of the Tropics' – is 'not guilty of anything', in an apparent reference to the legal cases Bolsonaro is facing in Brazil. Trump wrote: 'Brazil is doing a terrible thing on their treatment' of the former president. 'He is not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE,' he wrote. Among other cases, Bolsonaro is being tried by the supreme court for allegedly leading an attempted coup following his defeat to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the 2022 presidential election. While Bolsonaro expressed his gratitude for Trump's support, Lula said in an initial statement that Brazil was a 'sovereign country' that 'does not accept interference or tutelage from anyone'. Lula also responded to a Trump post from the previous evening in which the US president announced an additional 10% tariff on 'any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS', the grouping consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. 'I don't think it's responsible or serious for the president of a country the size of the US to go around threatening the world on the internet,' he said. 'He needs to understand that the world has changed. We don't want an emperor – we are sovereign nations.' Later, during a press conference at the Brics summit in Rio de Janeiro, Lula was asked directly about Trump's post in support of Bolsonaro. 'Look, I'm not going to comment on this Trump and Bolsonaro thing,' he said. 'I've got more important things to talk about than that. 'This country has laws, this country has rules, and this country has an owner: the Brazilian people. So mind your own business and not ours,' he added. Bolsonaro is facing a range of criminal and electoral cases in Brazil. He is now barred from running for office until 2030 after making unfounded attacks on the country's voting system, which disqualifies him from next year's election. At the supreme court, in addition to the alleged coup attempt, Bolsonaro stands accused of allegedly selling jewellery intended for the presidency and forging a Covid vaccination certificate. The coup case, however, is the most advanced, with a ruling expected later this year. In his post, Trump wrote: 'The only Trial that should be happening is a Trial by the Voters of Brazil – It's called an Election. LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE!' The former Brazilian president had been seeking a more vocal show of support from Trump for months. One of his sons, Eduardo Bolsonaro, took leave from his post as a congressman and has been living in the US since March, lobbying Trump and Republican politicians to impose sanctions on Brazil – and particularly on the judge overseeing the cases against the former president, Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Eduardo praised Trump's post and said it 'would not be the only news coming from the United States in the near future'. In his post thanking Trump – which included a photo of the two standing side by side during their presidencies – Bolsonaro said he was the target of 'a legal aberration (lawfare), a clear case of political persecution that is now obvious to anyone with common sense'. In Brazil, however, there is broad consensus among legal experts that the coup case is legally sound and that a conviction is likely.
