Bolsonaro says that "many truck drivers will stop working"
"I regret," he said, that he is unable to change Petrobras' pricing policy implemented after the 2016 coup.
(Reuters)- President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday that the increase in fuel prices will lead many truck drivers to strike, and stated that he will sign into law, as soon as it is approved by Congress, a bill that changes the rules for collecting ICMS tax on fuels to curb price increases.
"The price is too high. There are many truck drivers who will stop working, I know that, I regret it, because they can no longer bear this tax burden," Bolsonaro said in his weekly live broadcast on social media.
Petrobras announced earlier this Thursday that it will raise diesel prices by about 25% at its refineries, while gasoline prices are expected to rise by almost 19%, following gains in international oil prices due to the war in Ukraine.
The price increase occurred despite political pressure, including from Bolsonaro himself, who suggested last week that the oil company reduce its profit margin in order to avoid a surge in fuel prices at gas stations.
Despite the criticism, the president said that if Petrobras does not raise prices, "we will have shortages, which is worse than expensive fuel."
To try to curb rising fuel prices, the Senate approved two bills on Thursday related to the issue: one that changes the rules for collecting ICMS (a state sales tax) and eliminates PIS/Cofins (federal social security contributions) on diesel, LPG, and biodiesel, and another that creates a price stabilization account.
According to Bolsonaro, the new legislation will provide a discount of 60 cents per liter of diesel, for example. Repeating what the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, had said earlier, Bolsonaro stated that 33 cents will be cut by the federal government, while 27 cents will be the responsibility of the state governors.
The change to the ICMS, a state tax, has been advocated by Bolsonaro for quite some time as a way to curb rising prices, and the president said he is ready to sign the bill as soon as it is approved by the Chamber of Deputies.
The president lamented that the price adjustment announced by Petrobras will take effect as early as Friday, therefore probably before the new legislation comes into force.
"How nice it would be if Petrobras adjusted prices on Monday or Tuesday, but I can't intervene in Petrobras, even though I'm the majority shareholder," he said.
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