Bolsonaro's economic guru urges quick Brazil pension reform

OCTOBER 30, 2018 / 6:08 AM / UPDATED 6 HOURS AGO
Bolsonaro's economic guru urges quick Brazil pension reform
Rodrigo Viga Gaier
5 MIN READ

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - The future economy minister tapped by Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro insisted on Tuesday that he wanted to fast-track an unpopular pension reform to help balance government finances despite mounting resistance to getting it done this year.

Paulo Guedes, whom Bolsonaro selected as a “super minister” with a portfolio combining the current ministries of finance, planning and development, has urged Congress to pass an initial version of pension reform before the Jan. 1 inauguration.

“Our pension funds are an airplane with five bombs on board that will explode at any moment,” Guedes said on Tuesday. “We’re already late on pension reform, so the sooner the better.”

He called the reform essential to controlling surging public debt in Latin America’s largest economy and making space for public investments to jump-start a sluggish economy. Markets surged in the weeks ahead of Bolsonaro’s Sunday victory on the expectation that he could pull off the tough fiscal agenda.

More:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-politics/bolsonaros-economic-guru-urges-quick-brazil-pension-reform-idUSKCN1N41EB?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29&&rpc=401

LBN:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142190784