President Temer Gives Up on Pension Reform and Announces Plan B for the Economy

02/20/2018 - 11h03

The Temer administration admitted for the first time that it did not have the votes for the pension reform bill, which would be off the agenda at least until the presidential election, and announced a plan B, consisting of a series of measures that also depend on Congress' approval.

Among the proposals are the PIS/Confins tax reforms, an autonomous Central Bank, the approval of a general regulatory agency law, the revisiting of tax breaks, modifying the "Cadastro Positivo" - a financial history database - not to mention other proposals that were suggested by four ministers and three parliamentary leaders on the night of Monday the 19th, during a meeting at the Planalto Palace.

Earlier in the day, Secretary of Government Carlos Marun stated that the pension reform bill had been put on hold and that it would only be reintroduced in November at the earliest. Unofficially, the administration considers that the next administration will have to tackle the issue.

According to Mr. Marun, the administration arrived at the conclusion that there were no legal grounds to revoke the decree establishing a federal intervention in Rio - the decree rules out the possibility of amending the constitution, which pension reform would require.

"The issue of public safety became so explosive that it became necessary to implement a measure whose side effect means that pension reform will have to be suspended", he said.

Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said that pension reform is fundamental and a priority. "It is the most important fiscal reform and it will be submitted to Congress as soon as this is constitutionally possible."

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

Read the article in the original language

	Adriano Machado/Reuters
	Brazil's President Michel Temer reacts during a working session at Mercosur trade bloc annual summit in Brasilia