CEO of Brazil's Petrobras steps down after dividend dispute

Rio De Janeiro: The head of Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras has stepped down, the company said in a prepared statement Wednesday, following months of tensions with the federal government.

Petrobras opted not to pay extraordinary dividends to its shareholders earlier this year, souring relations between Petrobras CEO Jean Paul Prates and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Lula had defended that decision, calling the market a "voracious dinosaur" after shares plunged following the announcement regarding dividends. The company's shares plunged another 7% on Prates' departure.


"Markets and investors already know that the change of command at Petrobras represents more of the (Workers' Party) government's clumsy interventionism in the economy," Sergio Moro, former justice minister in far-right Jair Bolsonaro's government, said on social media.