Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro pension reform passes first vote in Congress
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s ambitious pension reform bill passed an initial vote in Congress Wednesday, a major step for his efforts to boost confidence in the country’s lagging economy.
In the first of two votes, the lower house of Brazil’s Congress approved the reform measure, a boon for Bolsonaro whose signature economic policy has faced stiff resistance from trade unions and a hostile Congress. Social activists and union members protested the proposed measure in Sao Paulo on Wednesday evening.
“I don’t want to work until I die,” said one demonstrator’s sign. But the measure received support from 379 deputies, above the required 308, while 131 voted against.
The proposal to introduce a minimum retirement age and increase contributions over a longer period of time is seen as crucial to Bolsonaro’s ability to deliver on other promised measures to shake up Latin America’s biggest economy, which is on the brink of recession.
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