Changes to rural social security make access to retirement more difficult.

Juca Guimarães, Brazil of Fact - Family farmer Lucindo Alves is a beneficiary of agrarian reform in the municipality of São Domingo (GO) and is worried about his retirement. He produces corn, rice, beans, and pumpkin and raises chickens for subsistence. The type of farming Alves practices is known as "dryland farming," meaning he only produces during the rainy season. With the changes to Rural Social Security, spearheaded by Jair Bolsonaro (PSL), the farmer fears he will not be able to prove his working time and, therefore, will be left without the benefit: "If the government wants to do this, it's so that the worker dies without the benefit he fights so hard for, at the end of his life."

The main target of questioning by rural producers is Provisional Measure 871, of January 18, which transfers the verification of time worked in the countryside from unions to municipalities, creating a National Social Information Registry (CNIS) for rural insured individuals. With the end of the Rural Activity Declaration issued by unions, retirement benefits will also have to be approved by a Rural Technical Assistance and Extension Company (Emater), accredited under the National Plan for Technical Assistance and Rural Extension.

According to the National Confederation of Rural Workers (Contag), only 3% of farmers are registered in the CNIS (National Social Security Information System). Representatives of the organization warn that transferring authority to municipalities could open the door to corruption and "electoral manipulation"—politicians could use the recognition of work time to obtain votes and political support in elections.

Aristides dos Santos, president of the Confederation, opposes the provisional measure: "Now it is the public bodies that have to approve it. In other words, this is no longer with the INSS (National Institute of Social Security), in direct relation with the unions. This could reduce farmers' access to Social Security," warns Aristides dos Santos, president of Contag.

"With this issue of the union's withdrawal, 90% of family farmers will not be able to retire," estimates Alves. "The union is the entity that represents us, brings information, and helps us in the field. Because we only go to the nearest city every 30 days, and only when we have money. We have no other representative besides the union."

How it used to work

Certification of time worked in agriculture is traditionally done through rural unions, the main form of organization for family farmers.

Thus, in December of last year, the National Social Security Institute (INSS) released benefit payments in the rural sector to 52.351 farmers, who are considered special insured individuals – since their contribution to the social security system is indirect, in the form of taxes on production. The waiting time for the granting of pensions is 50 days, on average, for both retirement and assistance benefits in the rural sector.

"The city hall doesn't have any technicians, nobody," Alves insists. "There are things that the mayor will ask the union to do, because they don't have the people to do it and they don't have the slightest structure to do this registration. Today it still works, with the union. But, if you take away the union, it's over, because the city hall and the state don't have the conditions to do it."

Bolsonaro's provisional measure automatically came into effect, without needing confirmation from Congress, for a period of 60 days, extendable for another 60 days. If parliamentarians do not reject the provisional measure, the changes to rural retirement become definitive rules.

"Fine-tooth comb"

Edijane Rodrigues, Secretary of Social Policies at Contag, states that she understands the apprehension of family farmers regarding the changes to Social Security and the weakening of the role of unions. She emphasizes that Bolsonaro's pretext, as with Bolsa Família, is to conduct a "fine-tooth comb" review of benefits to prevent alleged fraud. In other words, the federal government assumes that union entities are complicit in irregularities in verifying farmers' work time – without any concrete case or practical evidence.

"I always reaffirm the historical role of unions in helping to build our rural Social Security policy, which today is one of the most important for guaranteeing the production of healthy food in the countryside, as well as for the economy of more than 70% of Brazilian municipalities," he emphasizes.

According to Rodrigues, who also coordinates the Social Security portfolio at Contag, assigning technical assistance companies in the states the responsibility for the retirement process is a way of making it impossible for rural workers to access benefits, since many of these companies have been closing since 2017 due to lack of resources and structure.

The change in the rules for granting INSS benefits to farmers occurs in a context of transformations in Social Security also among urban workers. This Wednesday (20), Bolsonaro presents to the National Congress his proposal for Social Security reform, which includes the end of retirement by contribution time and the introduction of a capitalization regime. The minimum retirement age will be 65 years for men and 62 years for women.