MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian lawmakers among the best paid in the world

President-elect Dilma Rousseff also received a significant increase.

With the recent 62% increase Brazilian lawmakers (Lower House and Senate) will be among the best paid in the world, ahead of European and US peers and from other emerging economies.

The latest adjustment means Brazilian members of Congress will be making 204.000 US dollars annually, twenty times the per capita income of the country, when in Italy such a difference if five times, according to Folha de Sao Paulo.

The approximately 15.000 US dollars per month is higher than what lawmakers in the European Union and the Group of Eight most developed countries are paid (US; UK; Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Japan and Russia), points out the newspaper.

Political scientists Bruno Reis from the Federal University of Minas Gerais said that the difference between salary and GDP is evidence of the deep inequality existent in Brazil and in the scale of salaries.

However he supported the increase voted by the same lawmakers since “they seemed low compared to what high middle class professionals make in Brazil”.

The decision also benefits Dilma Rousseff since as of February first the Brazilian president will be paid the same as lawmakers (equivalent to a 134% increase), even when her salary will be half that of President Barack Obama.

The Brazilian president currently makes 6.800 US dollars a month. The increase is also extensive to the Vice president and cabinet minister which represents a 148% increase.

This latest increase will also have a cascade effect on state lawmakers and city councillors since the first adjust to 75% of their federal peers, and councillors up to 75% of state lawmakers depending on the local population.

The controversial increase comes at a moment when the government has announced cuts in spending but pretends to level the Legislative and the Executive that has always been well ahead of the rest.

The minimum salary in Brazil is equivalent to 300 US dollars a month.

The Brazilian congress has undergone serious and numerous corruption scandals involving funds from the Treasury making it the institution less reliable for Brazilian public opinion.

Although impressive, a ranking from the corporate sector comparing the salaries of CEO and board directors working in the cities of Sao Paulo, New York, London, Singapore and Hong Kong revealed an unexpected result.

The best paid are in Sao Paulo with 620.000 US dollars for CEO in the manufacturing sector and 243.000 for board directors: this compares with New York’s 574.000 and 213.000 US dollars respectively according to Dasein Executive Search.

“Foreigners didn’t have an idea that in Brazil pay was so good, nor even Brazilians overseas” said Adriana Prates from Dasein Executive Search.

The poll was taken among 80 professionals in each of the different categories and included the auto, steel, metal, minerals and construction industries among others. Companies involved have between 1.000 and 15.000 employees.

“In the financial sector salaries are even higher” said Prates with additional bonuses up to 23 times a year.

However there are some back draws, one of them “personal security is a serious threat that discourages many foreigners” and believe it or not “the long working hours of Sao Paulo business leaders.