Pension reform under the Bolsonaro government

The newly inaugurated government of Jair Bolsonaro presents its "pension reform" to Brazilian society, following the dictates of the Chicago School ideology, where ultraliberalism is a determining factor in thought.

Another unique characteristic of the reform is that it reveals intentions not yet stated: the takeover of the Brazilian people's retirement funds and handing them over to the financial system, that is, to the banks, which demand high profits from this perverse reform.

It is undeniably clear that the old and anachronistic arguments of the ruling class are repeated incessantly by this government, including the misleading and fear-mongering propaganda that Brazil will go bankrupt without reform, that sacrifices are necessary from the working people, that the deficit is unsustainable, among others.

However, they are incapable and cowardly in collecting from the major debtors of Social Security, the large companies that profit year after year, often from the exploitation of labor in our country, just as they do not touch those, the so-called privileged, who shamefully burden the public coffers, such as: the pensions of the military, members of the Public Prosecutor's Office, the judiciary, etc. In other words, the bill always falls on the common people and the people are always the ones who suffer; moreover, stating that there is a deficit is incorrect, according to data widely disseminated by the National Association of Federal Revenue Auditors of Brazil (ANFIP).

It is important to emphasize that social security is one of the three pillars of social welfare. Together with health and social assistance, it forms the hard-won achievements obtained through the 1988 Constitution.

The government's proposed capitalization plan, modeled after the Chilean system, is catastrophic, and the first alarming indicator is the increase in suicides.

It was surreptitiously argued that the capitalization system was the only way out, and the administration of these newly created funds was handed over to the financial system, whose objective is daily profitability. With the recent economic crises, many...

Retirees receive less than a minimum wage due to loans taken out with the same banking services mentioned above, and just when they need the most help, the result is destitution and despair, as they cannot even obtain the basic necessities for human survival.

Cruelty, disguised as justice, is judging unequal factors equally. In a continental country like ours – with its immense differences in social and working conditions – the categorical establishment of a standard minimum retirement age for everyone is not plausible.

A rural worker from the arid backlands of Brazil is not equivalent to an office worker on Paulista Avenue in São Paulo. Regional and professional characteristics must be considered in order to establish equitable retirement benefits.

It is also evident that the government's proposal to raise the minimum retirement age would condemn thousands of Brazilians to never retire.

The contradictions are evident with the same intensity when we observe that, today, workers contribute 8 to 11% monthly, and employers contribute 20%, through taxes such as COFINS, CSLL, and PIS/PASEP; according to the current government's proposal, the employer's contribution will be removed, leaving everything to the worker.

What the government doesn't say is that, in truth, there is an undeniable intention to privatize and dismantle the Brazilian social security system.

We, the labor movement, who since our origin have been at the forefront of our people, cannot accept such a monstrosity against Brazilian workers and this anti-people and anti-Brazil project. In this sense, we are opposed to this proposal from the federal government and reaffirm our position to debate these contradictions.

It is impossible not to fight against privileges and to hold accountable those who truly generate the wealth and development of our country for this dismantling.

This account is perverse and inhumane.

And if Brazilian workers are harmed, we are here to defend them and resist.