Dear director, the samba of energy. Among the various dances and ballets around the world there is one, economical, in which Italy can stumble: the one in Brazil. Where they want to penalize Enel for the Scaroni-Cattaneo duplex. And where, since 2023, President Lula – which in Portuguese means squid – a former metallurgical worker, first crucified and then sanctified, has returned. Who knows if the three-time president of the country of futebol in his imminent visit to Italy will want to stigmatize his Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira, who has not only put Enel in his sights, due to some electricity interruptions, but is intent on use all its influence against other Italian giants that have long been rooted in the South American country such as Tim and Leonardo. While Eni, between Petrobas and Shell, has essentially always had its doors slammed in its face. Casus belli for Enel were some blackouts when large areas, including the largest city in Brazil, Sao Paulo, remained dark for over 48 hours. Episodes that Enel justified with the storms and downpours that knocked down thousands of trees and electric poles. Despite this, Minister Silveira himself asked the energy authority (ANEEL) to apply every form of punishment, including dissolution if the Italian company can continue to be an energy concessionaire in the state of Sao Paulo. Enel has already paid a fine of 165 million reais (equal to approximately 33 million dollars), but the matter is still evolving, so much so that the Italian government has expressed its grievances to the Brazilian embassy in Rome. However, the intervention was considered a strategic mistake given that the Brazilians – Lula in the lead – are proudly nationalists and whoever wants to do business with them, especially in public sectors, must feel and behave like Brazilians, avoiding resorting to their own international weight.
Italy has long discovered the potential of the Brazilian market. He landed there with Fiat in 1976, which arrived bringing with it Magneti Marelli and Iveco. Today Stellantis cars are the best-selling in Brazil, which in the meantime has also become an export platform to other countries. Almost 20 years later (1995) Tim arrived, today in the hands of CEO Pietro Labriola who knows the Carnival town well. With its 60 million customers, Tim Brazil is worth more than its Italian parent company. The Brazilian branch is in danger of jamming. First Stefano De Angelis, and then Pietro Labriola, did well and should get the division back on track. However, the Lula government, through the telecommunications authority, has now decided to cut the profits of telephone operators and has issued a law that prohibits companies from interrupting the reception service to poor customers who have zero prepaid card balances. . In a country with a per capita income like Brazil, this could have a considerable impact on the telephone company’s accounts. Leonardo arrived in Brazil 20 years ago and is now a national leader in the sale of helicopters. Francesco Moliterni, CEO of Leonardo International, former right-hand man of General Manager Lorenzo Mariani, who only maintained institutional relations, was recently ousted. Perhaps because in past years Leonardo’s leaders have been very close to the Bolsonaro administration, Lula’s sworn enemy. On the international level, Lula – whose great popularity abroad is mainly due to his commitment to reducing Amazon deforestation – has indeed condemned the invasion of Ukraine, but has maintained unchanged relations with Russia, to which he is linked by Brics agreements. However, he has a good understanding with Biden and cultivates excellent relations with China, exporting iron and foodstuffs at full speed.
It negotiates a free trade agreement with Europe, hindered only by Emmanuel Macron, but continues to attract investments from large European companies. This geopolitical positioning has aroused the interest of large international funds, starting with the Arab ones which, from Mubdala (Dubai) and Salic (Saudi Arabia), are investing heavily in Brazil. Aside from her minister’s tantrums, Lula will return to Italy, where she has a special relationship with Massimo D’Alema who never abandoned him during his 580 days in prison. Lula also expressed words of appreciation for Giorgia Meloni, whose presidency of the G7 is according to him: «An extraordinary fact for Italy, moreover in a year that not only celebrates 150 years of Italian immigration in Brazil», but also for the “coincidence of the Brazilian presidency of the G20”. Who knows if these premises will be useful to Meloni to convince him not to penalize Italian companies too much. Otherwise the saudade ends up coming to us.
