Bolsonaro says he was wrong to oppose previous reforms and asks Congress to improve them.
During the ceremony to deliver the Social Security reform proposal, this Wednesday (20), President Jair Bolsonaro said that he "was wrong" to be against previous reform proposals; "I was wrong in the past," said Bolsonaro, who throughout three decades in office has at least 67 speeches recorded in the Chamber of Deputies against Social Security reform.
Reuters - In presenting the new pension reform proposal to Congress on Wednesday morning, President Jair Bolsonaro admitted that he had erred in the past by voting against previous reforms and that he is counting on lawmakers to improve the proposal.
"The project will be improved by you, ladies and gentlemen. This is extremely important because the responsibility lies with all of us, and together we must truly show ourselves that we made mistakes in the past—I made mistakes in the past—and we have a unique opportunity to guarantee future generations a social security system that everyone can receive," said the president during the ceremony at Congress, where the proposal was delivered to the Speaker of the House, Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ).
In previous reforms, Bolsonaro routinely voted against alternatives for the pension system. Even during negotiations for the reform proposed by former president Michel Temer, when he was still a presidential candidate, the president made statements against the reform.
When handing the proposal to Maia, Bolsonaro said he was going to the Chamber of Deputies also as a friend and was counting on the help of the parliamentarians.
"This is the future of our Brazil. Brazil is counting on us. We know that some sectors of society will have to contribute a little more; those who can contribute more will contribute more, and those who can contribute less will contribute less. And we are counting on you, ladies and gentlemen of parliament, to improve the project. Brazil needs to get out of this critical situation we are experiencing right now," the president argued.
Maia, in turn, raised a topic that has been dear to Congress since the negotiations of the reform proposed by Temer: communication with society.
"Our biggest challenge is for each of us to be able to communicate in our respective environments what the current pension system means, who it benefits, and what we want in the future. This is the most important thing, based on my experience as Speaker of the House. We saw President Temer's reform being dismantled with false information," said Maia.
The president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (DEM-AP), also stated that the senators intend to monitor the negotiations of the proposal in the Chamber of Deputies and make suggestions.
"If we can provide the necessary suggestions for debate in the Chamber, God willing, in the next two to three months we will arrive at the Senate with this proposal ready to be voted on," he stated.