Petroperú | Hugo Chávez Arévalo resigned: Threats to workers, questioning and crisis in the state-owned oil company

Hugo Chavez Arevalo was appointed as general manager of Petroperú since Friday, October 8, 2021. From that moment on, the economist was always involved in accusations. The judiciary issued an eight-month ban on his departure, and then the Prosecutor's Office raided his home to obtain further evidence of his interference in favoring a contract for Heaven Petroleum Operators (HPO), but President Pedro Castillo never moved him from his post. However, this Sunday he decided to step aside and resign.

He did not comply with what he said during a meeting with the managers of the state oil company, which were broadcast by the Panorama Sunday program in mid-January. “I am leaving the day after the president of this country (Pedro Castillo) leaves; I enjoy the confidence of the president,” he said, boasting of the protection of the head of state.

Despite the words of Chávez Arevalo, there was no sanction against the general manager and the economist continued to work in the public company as if nothing had happened, although he was accused of corruption.

The general manager was appointed by the government of Pedro Castillo, since at the Shareholders' Meeting of the company the members are the Ministers of Economy and Energy and Mines, the Deputy Minister of Finance and the Minister of Hydrocarbons.

WORKERS DEMANDED THE DEPARTURE OF HUGO CHAVEZ

Petroperu workers feared that the company would end up in bankruptcy due to Chavez Arevalo's mismanagement as general manager. In addition, they reported that they were abusing their labor rights, so they had called for the departure of the current management of the company.

Aldo Collantes, secretary general of the Petroperú Administrative Workers Union (STAPP), informed La República that on March 14 the oil company had reported that there would be a salary cut for 125 workers because 112 of these employees had a salary that was not “in line with their level of responsibility” and the others would be relocated to other positions.

However, STAPP commented that these measures had no basis. And in the face of pressure from the workers themselves, Petroperú terminated this measure.

The union had not supported the administration of Chávez Arevalo, something that fell very badly and, for which they were attacked: they were changed their position and location of employment, even though the rule states that union leaders cannot be moved from their posts.

It was also reported that the administration had changed about 90% of the management of Petroperú and they were replaced by former officials of the Áncash Regional Government who did not meet the profile to assume the positions because they have no experience in the hydrocarbons sector.

Despite the fact that STAPP had called for a 48-hour national strike, on Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 March, Petroperú's management had been threatening to fire workers who abide by the paralysis.

“JUNK BONDS”

Hugo Chavez Arevalo's resignation would also have occurred because the US agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) had announced that it lowered Petroperu's credit rating: the state-owned company moved from BBB- to BB+ in the long term, a seat in which it is already considered a 'junk bond', according to Bloomberg.

This note is used to classify companies with the greatest risk of defaulting their debts and changed the outlook from stable to negative for the Peruvian oil company.

'Junk bonds' are those of low quality, that is, they have a degree of non-investment. They are issued by entities or governments with a higher risk of bankruptcy than investment grade bonds. In the case of S&P, speculative grade bonds are those with a BB, B, CCC, CC and C rating.

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