The Lula administration's new move to reduce pain at the pump

Fuel prices in Brazil have stopped ballooning after the initial shock of the war in Iran, but remain well above pre-war levels — particularly for diesel. With the Strait of Hormuz still deadlocked, another round of increases may be only a matter of time.

To prevent that from happening, just months prior to what will be a grueling re-election campaign for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the government sent Congress a bill to redirect increasing oil revenues toward federal tax cuts on diesel, biodiesel, gasoline and ethanol.