Dilma: Criticism of Petrobras "gets lost in the vastness of the pre-salt reserves"

Yara Aquino - Reporter for Agência Brasil

Amid criticism over the hiring of Petrobras to explore, without bidding, the surplus oil in four pre-salt areas, President Dilma Rousseff today (27) defended the state-owned company and said that the voices of those who criticize the company "will be lost in the immensity of the pre-salt sea". According to Dilma, it is not possible to conduct oil exploration policy with a short-term vision.

"The clamor of voices that always wanted to diminish Petrobras has returned, those who always wanted to hand over our opportunities without considering who it was for or under what conditions, those who want to view an oil company based solely on its short-term profitability," he said, speaking at the National Convention of the Brazilian Communist Party (PCdoB).

Dilma countered criticisms that the funds received by the Union in the new contract with Petrobras will be used to generate a primary surplus. She cited the signing bonus of R$ 2 billion, which will be paid by the state-owned company upon signing the contract. "We took Petrobras into consideration and only charged R$ 2 billion. This year they will only pay R$ 2 billion. Therefore, when you see in the newspaper that we are generating a primary surplus, a surplus is generated with R$ 15 billion, not with R$ 2 billion. Two billion is not enough to cover expenses," she compared.

As she has done in recent speeches, the president criticized the pessimism being spread regarding the World Cup. This time, Dilma cited the national and international media, which, according to her, were wrong in their assessments of the football World Cup. "The national press also erred considerably in its assessment. Without any belligerent intent, it's important to note that they were terribly wrong in their evaluation."