Against the PT, Noblat resumes the "sea of mud" discourse.
More than 60 years after the political crisis that culminated in Getúlio Vargas's suicide, journalist Ricardo Noblat, a columnist for Globo, resorts to the same motto used by the incendiary Carlos Lacerda of the former UDN party to attack the PT (Workers' Party); according to Noblat, Petrobras is covered by a "sea of mud"; created by Vargas in the "the oil is ours" campaign, Petrobras was one of the symbols of Lula's government and President Dilma's 2010 campaign, with the pre-salt discoveries; now, it is once again at the center of the national political debate.
247 - Columnist Ricardo Noblat, from the newspaper O Globo, revisited the motto of journalist and politician Carlos Lacerda, from the former UDN party, to outline his analysis of Paulo Roberto Costa's plea bargain. According to Noblat, Petrobras is covered by a "sea of mud." Used exhaustively by Lacerda around 1954 to portray alleged corruption scandals in Getúlio Vargas's government, the expression "sea of mud" became a symbol of the political radicalism of an era that ended with the suicide of the labor politician.
In his column "A Sea of Mud Threatens Petrobras," Noblat ironically comments on President Dilma Rousseff, asking when she will apologize and admit she was betrayed by subordinates, as former President Lula did in 2005 when the "mensalão" scandal broke out. "At the very least, that's what is expected of her, former Minister of Mines and Energy, former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Petrobras, and President of the Republic at the end of her term," Noblat states.
By using the expression "sea of mud," Noblat made a risky political choice, aware of its historical significance. In practice, he fired the starting gun for a new wave of attacks on the PT, which will become increasingly intense until October 5th, the day of the first round of voting.
Created during the Vargas government, after the "the oil is ours" campaign, Petrobras also became one of the symbols of the Lula government, thanks to the pre-salt discoveries. It is no coincidence that former president Lula repeated one of Vargas's most famous gestures by getting his hands dirty with oil. And it was with those same hands that he anointed then-minister Dilma Rousseff as a candidate for the presidency of the Republic, in a photo that became emblematic of the 2010 campaign.
As president, Dilma implemented more nationalist rules in the oil sector, with the production-sharing model, which gives Petrobras more space in the exploration of the pre-salt layer, from where the company already extracts more than 500 barrels/day. Her opponents have different approaches. Aécio Neves, from the PSDB party, speaks of returning to the concession model, while Marina Silva, from the PSB party, puts the pre-salt layer in second place, prioritizing alternative energies.
With Paulo Roberto Costa's plea bargain testimony regarding an alleged corruption scheme at the company, the state-owned oil company is back at the center of the political debate. The PSDB party, which has already been accused of wanting to privatize Petrobras after the attempt to change its name to Petrobrax, is now talking about the need to re-nationalize it. Aécio Neves has even promised to take it "out of the clutches of the PT (Workers' Party)." Noblat's statement about the "sea of mud" will radicalize this discourse.