Maia believes it's possible to vote on pension reform in 4 weeks.

BRASILIA (Reuters) - The Speaker of the House, Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), stated this Monday that it is up to President Michel Temer's government to "renegotiate" its relationship with its allied base in order to try to secure the necessary votes to approve the pension reform in the House.

Maia said that the deputies are "hurt" after the "wear and tear" they went through in rejecting the two accusations against Temer. According to him, the Executive branch needs to talk to the parliamentarians in its base in order to discuss and vote on the reform.

"There is wear and tear, and it is up to the government to reorganize its base and renegotiate its support so that we can once again have enough votes to pass the pension reform," said Maia, in an interview with journalists as he left the meeting of leaders of the Chamber of Deputies.

Maia said that the failure to vote on the reform cannot be attributed to the centrist bloc, the PSDB, or the DEM.

"It's wrong to try to blame A, B, or C here. We spent five months here during a time of great tension and strain at the base," he said, in an indirect reference to the J&F plea bargain that implicated Temer.

But the Speaker of the House also said that it is possible to vote on the reform in four weeks. He stated that it is necessary to inform the public that the reform aims to reduce the sector's high deficit and create a more balanced system, in which those who earn less can benefit.

Earlier, upon arriving at the meeting, the DEM congressman had said that it is up to the government to "build" the support of its base in order to approve the reform.

The Speaker of the House argued for a vote on pension reform that addresses, at least, the minimum retirement age, a transition rule, and also a change in the granting of benefits for public service employees.

According to Maia, the reform needs to be approved so that the country doesn't become like Greece. He did not go to the Presidential Palace to participate in the meeting promoted by Temer with party leaders.

Since the beginning of May, before the outbreak of the crisis involving the J&F plea bargain that implicated Temer, the text of the pension reform has been stalled in the Chamber of Deputies.

Temer promises commitment.

In a statement at the start of a meeting with leaders of the government's base at the Planalto Palace, Temer promised that he will continue to work towards the approval of the pension reform.

"Even if we can't implement all the changes proposed by the pension reform, let's make progress that allows those who come after us to conduct a new review," he argued.

In an indirect attack on former Attorney General Rodrigo Janot, author of the two indictments against him, Temer stated that there were "inappropriate actions" by some figures that delayed the pension reform.

The president further argued that many intend to defeat the pension reform, assuming that by rejecting it they will inflict a defeat on the government, which is not true.

Additional reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu