Roberto Castello Branco, who was dismissed by Jair Bolsonaro from the presidency of Petrobras last Friday (19), would have refused to invest R $ 100 million of the company in advertising for Record and SBT. This attitude would be one of the reasons for the erosion of the executive’s relationship with the politician. The information is from columnist Merval Pereira, from the newspaper O Globo; the Minister of Communications, Fábio Faria, denied the journalist.
“Castello Branco had refused a government request to place R $ 100 million in advertising on the television networks Record, by Bishop Macedo, and SBT, by Silvio Santos,” wrote Pereira, who also comments on GloboNews news.
The journalist’s text was published on Sunday night (21), with the title “Petrobras advisors resist changes”. This Monday morning (22), Fábio Faria, Minister of Communications and son-in-law of Silvio Santos, claimed that the Federal Government adopts technical criteria to make investments in advertising.
“Merval, whoever gave this information to you lies. And you lie, as a result. Since I took over, all campaigns are distributed based on market share [cota de mercado] and discounts, according to TCU (Federal Audit Court) guidelines, and all broadcasters participate, including their [Grupo Globo]. Your note is slanderous and malicious “, replied Faria.
See the tweet below:
Merval, who gave you that information MIND. And you MIND, as a consequence. Since I took office, ALL campaigns are distributed based on Market share and discounts, according to TCU guidelines, and ALL broadcasters participate, including yours.
Your note is slanderous and malicious. pic.twitter.com/bb60ubuNia– Fábio Faria 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷 (@ fabiofaria5555) February 22, 2021
THE TV News contacted Record, SBT and Palácio do Planalto about the information on the request for investment in advertising, but did not get any answers until the closing of this text.
Petrobras’ investment in advertising
According to data from the Transparency Portal, Petrobras invested R $ 73.1 million in advertising last year and another R $ 73.8 million in 2019, Jair Bolsonaro’s first year as president. In 2020, R $ 52.7 million was allocated only to open TV, an increase of R $ 3.9 million compared to the previous year.
In 2015, the national company provided R $ 259.3 million in advertising, of which R $ 161.5 million was sliced for open TV networks; in 2018, the company’s total advertising expenditure was R $ 122.2 million – with R $ 64.3 million invested in the broadcasters.
Petrobras is a “state-owned mixed-capital company”, which is publicly traded, but its majority shareholder is the Federal Government. Therefore, decisions must be approved by the Board of Directors and, like other public bodies, the distribution of advertising funds must comply with technical criteria.
The crisis between Jair Bolsonaro and the company’s command intensified after the announcement of readjustments in diesel and gasoline prices. Last Friday night, the politician communicated the appointment of General Joaquim Silva e Luna to the presidency of Petrobras. However, this choice needs to be approved by the Petrobras Board of Directors; Castello Branco’s term ends on March 20.
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