Petrobras new chief sworn in as market worries Brazil’s government will have heavier hand

By ELÉONORE HUGHES

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The head of Brazil’s state-run oil giant Petrobras, Magda Chambriard, has been sworn in as market concerns of increased government intervention in the company mount. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — who nominated Chambriard — attended the ceremony Wednesday at a Petrobras research center in Rio de Janeiro. Lula fired Chambriard’s predecessor, Jean Paul Prates, last month following months of tensions. The market viewed Prates as putting shareholders’ interests above those of the nation, and is skeptical Chambriard will have the same approach. “Our management, as expected, is fully aligned with President Lula’s and the federal government’s vision for the country,” Chambriard said during the ceremony. “After all, they are our majority shareholders.”