MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Minister says pension reform will pass within four months, helping the Brazilian economy to grow by 3.5%
Guedes advanced that he believes the government’s pension reform proposal will be voted on in Congress within two to four month Brazil's economic growth may accelerate to a 3.5% annual rate in the second half of the year after the approval of pension reforms, Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said in an interview with TV channel Globo news.
The economy ministry, central bank and private sector economists have downgraded their 2019 growth forecasts in recent weeks as the economy has struggled to gain traction. The gloomier predictions are now around 1.5% or even lower.
Guedes said the government was considering ways of strengthening supervision of pension funds that manage retirement of employees of state-controlled companies.
The minister also advanced that he believes the government’s pension reform proposal, which many see as crucial to steadying the country’s rickety public finances, will be voted on in Congress within two to four month
Meanwhile leaders of Brazil’s largest parties in Congress have delayed to next week an expected vote to start discussion in parliament on the country’s pension reform.
House Speaker Rodrigo Maia said he expected the committee to approve the discussion in a vote on Tuesday next week.
The government leader in the House, deputy Major Vitor Hugo (PSL-GO), confirmed that the vote, the first step to start discussing the draft reform, is now expected to take place next week.
Brazil’s currency, the real, weakened more than 1% to 3.9453 against the U.S. dollar, as traders cited worries that the government was struggling even with the preliminary steps toward passing the reform, which is seen as crucial to reining in a budget deficit and reigniting economic growth.
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Apr 20th, 2019 - 04:26 am 0It's utterly believable:
https://i2.wp.com/www.humorpolitico.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Maia-Reforma-Da-Previdencia.jpg?resize=580%2C401&ssl=1
“The Bolsonaro government opts for censorship, violating national transparency laws to hide the fact that it’s pro-rich pension reform is unnecessary for the Brazilian population.
Apr 23rd, 2019 - 02:32 pm 0By Paulo Moreira Leite
The Bolsonaro government’s censorship proves that reform will only happen through dictatorship. In refusing to allow public access to the economic data used to justify the pension system reform, Economic Minister Paulo Guedes’ team is paying tribute to the inspiration for its project – the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship, which implanted a similar pension system reform when Chile was submitted to the most bloody dictatorship in Latin America.
... In this climate, the Bolsonaro government takes refuge in censorship for an obvious reason. They know that the data would confirm, in detailed manner, the arguments being made by critics of the reform and that this would ignite the country, showing how, if passed, it will affect the poor and less protected while preserving all the privileges for the rich. This is how they plan to rip R$1 trillion from the pockets of the majority of the Brazilian population, forcing them to work more, pay more and receive less for their retirements.
Considering that they need a 3/5 majority of congressional votes to approve the main changes, the fear of the government is clear. It is afraid that the resistance will grow large enough to block Bolsonaro’s allies from raising enough votes to pass the measure.
Incapable of facing democratic debate, the Government appeals to ignorance and censorship, in the hopes of evading a right guaranteed by the Transparency Law. We’ve seen this movie before, and it ends in tragedy.”
http://www.brasilwire.com/censorship-bolsonaros-new-reform-strategy/
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