Brazil’s pension reform to be submitted to Congress this month

The text for the reform in Brazil’s pension system being drafted by the government will be considered by President Jair Bolsonaro and should be submitted to Congress sometime early this month. The announcement was made by vice-President Hamilton Mourão, who presided over a cabinet meeting Tuesday (Jan. 5).

“I believe [the proposal] will be sent to Congress before the second half [of this month],” Mourão said. The overhaul has been given top priority by the Executive branch. Issues like the minimum retirement age, Mourão reported, have not been covered and will be settled by Bolsonaro, currently hospitalized in São Paulo following a surgery to remove a colostomy bag.

Mourão said Santos Cruz, minister for the government’s secretariat, is devising a communication plan to present the proposal clearly to the population. The vice-president ruled out a possible poll on the topics included in the text. “Sometimes, people don’t have all the data about what’s best for the country as a whole,” he explained.

Mourão believes that any immediate decision may be taken by the president himself, adding that serving as the country’s acting president will not be necessary.

The disaster in Brumadinho

On the aftermath of the tailings dam collapse in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais state, which claimed the lives of 130 and left hundreds missing, the vice-president said that the government has focused on monitoring and reassessment measures at all of the country’s dams in order to prevent new tragedies.

“[We have to] implement what has been decided, otherwise we’ll be left with merely good intentions, which is what happened in previous administrations,” he added.