Pedro Parente, chief executive of Brazil’s state oil firm Petrobras, resigned from the post unexpectedly on Friday, according to Reuters.
His move followed the national government’s recent intervention in Petrobras’ fuel pricing policy because of the turmoil caused by a truck drivers’ strike.
Truckers have been on strike and mounting roadblocks for weeks in protest at 50% fuel price hikes.
The resultant chaos on the roads, at ports and in the supply chain prompted national President Michel Temer to freeze fuel prices on a monthly basis and take other measures to lower domestic diesel prices.
Petrobras, which has huge offshore oil resources, has for four years been the hub of a huge bribes-for-inflated-contracts scandal which did bad damage to the firm’s reputation and its bottom line.
Under Parente’s stewardship Petrobras’ debt was slashed and the company returned to profitability.
One of the conditions on which he took the job was that he had freedom to control fuel prices.
That power has been undermined by Temer’s actions, the likely reason for Parente‘s decision.
On his way out, Parente called on a President Temer to follow the company’s corporate governance rules in choosing his successor so as to avoid political appointments.
