Petrobrás como instrumento de afirmação da desindustrialização prematura e reprimarização da pauta exportadora do Brasil

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate Petrobras' role, since 2015, in Brazil's premature deindustrialization process and the trend towards the re-primarization of its export profile. Specifically, the research seeks to: I) discuss and gather data related to Brazil's deindustrialization and re-primarization; II) examine changes in the company's shareholder structure and policies; III) assess whether there are signs of a deepening trend of regressive specialization in Brazil, based on changes in production levels, consumption, refining capacity, crude oil exports, and diesel imports. The study's hypothesis is that Petrobras' policies, especially since 2015, reinforce the country's deindustrialization and re-primarization trend, aligning with Brazil's current development pattern and changes in the international division of labor, which revolve around the financialization process as a stage of global capitalist accumulation. From this study, it is observed that, with Petrobras' de-verticalization process, the abandonment of industrial policies, the prioritization of returns to foreign investors through a corporate management strategy based on shareholder value, and the increased focus on crude oil exports at the expense of investing in national refining capacity, the significance of crude oil has grown within Brazil's export basket of basic products. This shift reinforces the regression towards specialization in primary products. Therefore, it is evident how the company contributes to the country's deindustrialization and further deepens the existing trend of re-primarization in Brazil's export profile.