The federal government’s proposal to offer BRL 400 in fuel assistance to truck drivers to ease the rise in diesel prices would help drivers to travel around 100 km with the amount, according to calculations by the licensed president of Abrava (Brazilian Association of Motor Vehicle Drivers), Wallace Landim. The value would be insufficient for the monthly costs of the category.
The account takes into account a truck that makes an average of 2 km/l and the average and maximum values of diesel used in the country between June 12th and 18th. According to the ANP (National Petroleum Agency), the average value was R$ 6.90 per liter, and the maximum was R$ 8.63. The numbers still do not reflect the last adjustment announced by Petrobras on Friday (17), when the state-owned company reported a 14.26% increase in diesel sold to distributors.
With R$ 400, the truck driver would be able to pay 46 liters of fuel at R$ 8.63 and travel 92 km. Considering the average value, it would pay almost 58 liters and run 116 km.
The economics professor at Ibmec-Rio Caio Ferrari says that a truck driver spends from R$5,000 to R$10,000 on diesel per month, if he is going to keep the truck running straight. With that, the aid would not make a difference in the budget.
“In general, it is a very low value in relation to the cost of fuel, it is a measure more for the English to see, it will have little effectiveness”
Caio Ferrari, professor of economics at Ibmec-Rio
In addition, there are other vehicle maintenance costs. “It’s a measure more to give some answer than to really be relief in the pockets of truck drivers”, he says.
Other calculations
For Wallace Landim, known as Chorão, the aid can yield even less, depending on the performance of each truck.
With his, he says, it is possible to do an average of 1.6 km/h, which would allow traveling from 92 km to 74 km, considering the average and maximum values of diesel. In this case, the value would allow for a short journey, such as from São Paulo to Vinhedo, in the interior of the state, which are 76 km away.
If you consider a truck with better performance, 3 km / l, for example, the distance traveled would be from 173 km to 139 km – which would not allow a round trip to the same city.
“This value [de R$ 400] It doesn’t even fuel a pickup truck. Truck driver doesn’t need alms. We need the government to have the courage and responsibility to change Petrobras’ pricing policy,” he said to UOL.
Proposal awaits opinion
Faced with frequent increases in fuel prices, the Jair Bolsonaro government (PL) and the National Congress decided to expand Auxílio Gás and create aid for truck drivers, a category that has been constantly suffering from the increases announced by Petrobras. However, the measure, which takes place 4 months before the elections, has been criticized by the beneficiaries themselves.
According to the newspaper Folha de São Paulo, the details of the proposal were agreed on Tuesday (21) at a meeting between the Minister of the Civil House, Ciro Nogueira, and the presidents of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), and from the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG). The information was confirmed by technicians and members of the Planalto Palace.
The proposal is still awaiting an opinion from the AGU (Advocacy General of the Union), as there is a fear that the creation of the valley for truck drivers violates the electoral law. The alternative, according to part of the government, is the inclusion of the fuel voucher in a PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) to remove electoral questions.
The expectation is to include between 700,000 and 900,000 self-employed truck drivers. The amount took into account the amount of R$ 400 paid in the Auxílio Brasil program.
