Bolsonaro has launched a strong pension reform: seeks to save US $ 300,000

The proposal was received negatively by the markets, who predict complex negotiations and believe that it will be subject to several amendments by a fragmented legislation, where the government will need a special majority of both chambers to approve it.

The Sao Paulo Stock Exchange, which grew by almost 1%, driven by initial enthusiasm, ended up yielding 1.14%. The real, meanwhile, has tilted slightly down and closed at 3.72.

"We know the difficulties, but we have the skill, the patriotism and the commitment on your part to save Brazil economically, we have no other way out," Bolsonaro said. by personally bringing the project to Congress with his Minister of the Economy, the ultraliberal Paulo Guedes.

The project establishes a minimum age of 62 for women and 65 for men. The Bolsonaro economic team is planning a savings over the next decade of 1.16 billion reals (more than $ 300,000 million).

The proposal also provides that Brazilians wishing to retire with a full pension must contribute 40 years to the system and increase the contribution period to qualify for the minimum benefit of 15 to 20 years.

Brazil is currently one of the few countries not to impose a minimum age for retirement. The current system allows women who have been in retirement for 30 years and men who have been doing so for 35 years, with no minimum age, although benefits are better for those who are working longer.

The government has put in place a vast communication device to overcome the reluctance of the population to a project that hardens the rules on retirement. The president has scheduled a televised speech in the night to defend the text.

About 1,000 people protested this morning against the project in the center of Sao Paulo, convened by the main unions of the country denouncing an attempt to "put an end to social security in Brazil".

"We will organize bademblies in factories to explain to workers that (…) if we do not unite to reject this proposal, we will have to work until we die, we will not be able to retire," he said. said Walmir de Morais, a 38-year-old member of the Single Central Workers (CUT).

Economist Alex Agostini of consulting firm Austin Rating told AFP: "It still does not evaluate whether [la propuesta] is positive or not "because" it is about the beginning of the discussions ".

"Do not forget that one thing is the economic logic, another is the political logic. [Hay que ver] how will the Congress receive the proposal (…). It will be hard for the government to fully preserve it, "he added.

The UK-based economics consulting firm Capital Economics agreed that it was an "ambitious" plan, but warned that "antecedents suggest that the legislative process could take time" and that In the end, the project could be "diluted" compared to its current format.

Bolsonaro himself, a former army captain known for his nationalist positions, voted against the pension reform of 2003.

"I was wrong in the past," admitted the 63-year-old right-wing leader, who gained investor support through his presence in Guedes.

The urgency of reforming the pension system in an aging country is a consensus even among some sectors of the opposition.

In 2018, 9.2% of the 209 million Brazilians were over 65 years old. In 2060, they will be 25.5%, according to official forecasts.

Bolsonaro has in principle a majority constituted by the parties of several parties to approve this constitutional reform, which requires the vote of three fifths of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies (308 out of a total of 513) and the Senate (49 out of 61).

Vice President Hamilton Mourao said on Tuesday that the government currently has 250 votes in the House and that it would take "60 or 70 to approve the proposal."

The impulse with which the president came to power on January 1 was affected by dissent and allegations of irregularities in the management of his party 's electoral accounts, which resulted in Monday' s dismissal. an important minister.

Bolsonaro also suffered its first legislative defeat on Tuesday when the Chamber of Deputies overturned a presidential decree restricting access to public information by giving more officials – not just the president, vice-president and the ministers clbadify the data as confidential.