Jamesian Philosophy Refreshed

A year ago, I wrote a blog entry entitled "Petrobras and Brazil," a brief comment on the bid-rigging and bribery scandal. A lot has happened since then.  In early March, law enforcement officers questioned former President Lula da Silva and raided his home as part of an investigation known as Operation Car Wash. In mid March, defying Car Wash,   President Dilma Rousseff named Lula as her chief of staff, Both supporters and opponents of Rousseff/Silva took to the streets to protest against/for Car Wash in the following days.  Rousseff herself was vulnerable. She had been on the board of directors of Petrobras in 2003-2010.  In April, the lower House initiated an impeachment action against Rousseff. The Senate voted in May to suspend her from office.  This suspension is not a simple removal -- and Rousseff apparently continues to live in the presidential palace. But the acting president, during the suspension, is Michel Temer.  Meanwh...

Not yet prominently covered by the finance media in the US: boardroom troubles at Petrobras, the company that was once the national oil company of Brazil, that was privatized in 2010 but that remains of great importance there (and in the South American continent in general) -- this looks like something that could explode into big front page headlines soon. (Its impressive looking HQ building in Rio is portrayed here.) The chairman of the board has taken a temporary leave of absence, after only five months on the job. The company isn't saying why, except for a terse reference to "personal reasons." Does this mean he is retiring, and simply hopes to play a lot of golf? Almost certainly not. After all, Murilo Ferreira remains a member of the board of Vale SA< Brazil's big mining corp., a task which one presumes also cuts into golf time.  So what is there specific about Petrobras that  requires he be absent? Petrobras contends these days with a bid rigging and br...