After ten months of debate, Brazil's Chamber of Deputies passed President Getulio Vargas' oil bill last week. If the Senate, as expected, approves it without significant changes. Brazil will join Mexico and Iran as a land of nationalized oil.
Reflecting the extreme nationalism now dominant in the country, the bill sets up the Brazilian Petroleum Corp. (Petrobrás) as a government monopoly operating under the supervision of the National Petroleum Council. Petrobrás will have the sole right to explore, exploit, refine and distribute the country's oil. The five U.S. and British companies now importing and distributing oil and byproducts may continue to...
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