BR Distribuidora reshuffle seen as positive for investors Petrobras refining head steps down before first refinery sale (Recasts story, adds context throughout)
RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Two of Brazil’s top executives overseeing privatization efforts at state-run oil and electricity companies Petrobras and Eletrobras stepped down on Monday, raising questions about the future of President Jair Bolsonaro’s asset sale program.
Wilson Ferreira Jr., the chief executive of state-run power firm Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras, or Eletrobras, resigned, saying he had lost faith that there was the necessary political support for the privatization drive.
Ferreira, who led Eletrobras for nearly four-and-a-half years, will take the helm of recently-privatized fuel distributor, Petrobras Distribuidora SA, which operates Latin America’s largest gas station chain known as BR Distribuidora, the two companies said.
By Reuters Staff
(Adds oil workers union)
SAO PAULO, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A nationwide Brazilian truckers strike gathered momentum on Tuesday as a key oil worker union lent its support to the upcoming action that could cripple the country’s economy, which is still reeling from the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
Brazil’s National Confederation of Transport and Logistics Workers (CNTTL) on Tuesday urged its 800,000 members to join a Feb. 1 trucker strike led by the National Association of Autonomous Transporters of Brazil (ANTB). Later, the Federação Única dos Petroleiros (FUP) union said it, too, backed the move.
A similar nationwide strike three years ago paralyzed Brazil and sent shockwaves through its economy. Although it remains to be seen how widely the industrial action will be, a major strike would be a hammer-blow to Brazil’s economy.
Britons will feel “renewed confidence and pride” in 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May has said in her New Year message. The prime minister said that while Brexit will be “crucial” in the coming year, it is “not the limit” of the government s ambitions, and it will focus on schools, the police and NHS to change people s daily lives.