Overview

• The former senator and ex-Petrobras president confirmed in an interview published Sunday that he is departing the party after more than a decade of membership.
• He said talks with MDB and PDT are advanced for a potential Senate run in 2026, though he has not chosen a new affiliation.
• Prates outlined a three-step exit that includes a calm farewell, selection of a new party, and only then a discussion about candidacy.
• He argued his decision is unrelated to his May 2024 dismissal from Petrobras and instead reflects a lack of internal debate over candidacies in the state PT.
• Prates criticized energy policy management as chaotic and lobby-driven, cited clashes with ministers Alexandre Silveira and Rui Costa, and questioned Petrobras’s ethanol push and offshore wind delays while urging diesel coprocessing with vegetable oil.