Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro scored a partial parliamentary victory this week folllowing the first round approval by the Lower House of the pension reform bill, which also meant a severe blow to the country's waning left.
Brazilian House speaker Rodrigo Maia said over the weekend he expects the lower Congressional House to begin voting on the pension reform bill this Tuesday. After a meeting with Congressional leaders on Saturday in Brasilia, Maia said he will begin discussing the bill with party leaders on Monday and expects voting to begin late on Tuesday.
Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s president, likes romantic metaphors. “Our marriage is stronger than ever,” he said in May after the press speculated that he was at odds with the economy minister, Paulo Guedes. “The marriage ended with no hard feelings,” he said this month after sacking Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, a minister who had said that others in government should be more careful on social media—thus outraging Bolsonaro fans who tweet about the virtues of military rule and the horrors of homosexuality.
Brazil’s congressional committee on pension reform began debating a revised bill, as president Jair Bolsonaro urged lawmakers to rethink their move to drop his plan to introduce a retirement system based on private savings accounts.
Thousands of supporters of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro took to the streets across Brazil on Sunday in a protest seen as a gauge of the embattled leader's popularity only five months into his term.
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.
Brazilian police have accused Rodrigo Maia, Brazil’s powerful lower house speaker, and his father of receiving bribes totalling at least 1.4 million reais (US$ 361,869), a document on Friday showed. The federal police document was delivered to the Supreme Court, as part on an ongoing investigation into Maia.
Brazil’s pension reform process will pick up momentum after the Easter holidays, staying on track for approval in the lower house in May or June, the lower house speaker Rodrigo Maia said on Thursday.
Brazil’s lower house of Congress reelected on Friday by a vast majority Rodrigo Maia, from the Democratas party, for a new two-year term as president of the chamber. Maia had the support of Brazil’s newly elected President Jair Bolsonaro and has pledged to work with the new administration to pass key reforms seen as crucial for the country to balance its budget, such as the pension reform.
Outgoing President Michel Temer issued an executive order that allows foreign groups to own 100% of a Brazilian airline. Previously, non-Brazilians were limited to 20% of shares. The decision occurs in the midst of a bankruptcy proceeding filed by Avianca Brasil.