The CEO of Bradesco, one of Brazil's largest banks, said that the Bolsonaro administration needs to focus all efforts into approving the Social Security reform bill until July.
Octavio de Lazari told Folha that if the bill takes longer to mover through Congress, the market will lose confidence in the government, which could bring "developments that will be very harmful to the economy."
Analysts consider the least optimistic scenario as the most likely and have been adjusting their projections for this year's Gross Domestic Product performance. The consensus is that the growth will be closer to 2% than the previous 2.5%.
"The Social Security reform is important; the tax reform is even more important. However, you can't do everything at once. You need to do one first so that the others can happen. That's why the Social Security reform is so important - not only on its own but also because other reforms depend on it," Lazari said.
The CEO also said that the government needs to be more mindful about how it uses social media and that president Bolsonaro is going through a learning curve. "He, as the president, will have guidance and will learn he needs to focus on what the country needs to get done."
Translated by NATASHA MADOV