Brazilian markets sank on Monday as investors saw Jair Bolsonaro’s move on the country’s state-controlled oil company as the latest sign the far-right president is willing to sacrifice the market-friendly policies sponsored by his economy minister to boost his popularity.
Bolsonaro’s decision on Friday to replace the University of Chicago-educated economist at the helm of Petroleo Brasileiro SA after a feud over fuel prices surprised even his inner political circle, according to two government officials familiar with the episode.
There was no room to discuss the move that shows a president increasingly impatient with the government’s inability to appease his political base, including truckers who have been threatening a strike over rising diesel costs, they added, requesting anonymity because the discussion isn’t public.
The following day, the president justified his decision by saying the oil company’s current management has shown “zero…