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A12 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 24 OcTOber 2019
Brazil Congress passes landmark overhaul of pension system

By MAURICIO SAVARESE tion was more aggressive
DAVID BILLER and aimed at saving more
Associated Press than $300 billion over 10
SAO PAULO (AP) — The years. Congress removed
Senate gave final congres- some items, including a re-
sional approval Tuesday to duction of small benefits for
an overhaul of Brazil's pen- elderly and disabled peo-
sion system, capping years ple with low incomes.
of stalled efforts to sway On the central artery of Sao
public opinion and rein in Paulo, Brazil's biggest city,
unsustainable government 48-year-old Anibal Soares
spending on retirement. said he paid less attention
The Senate voted 60-19 to to debate of the plan than
adopt changes for civil ser- he should have.
vants and private-sector "I heard that after this re-
workers, handing President form I'll have to work six
Jair Bolsonaro his first major more years to get the same
legislative victory. He pro- pension. Six more years
posed the constitutional paying social security, for
amendment in February what?" said Soares, a sales-
and, after some water- man of farm products. "I'm
ing down, Congress' lower not saying there shouldn't
house gave its approval in be a reform, but I have the
August. The Senate holds a final vote on pension reform in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019. feeling it will be people like
The most meaningful Associated Press me paying for it."
change sets a minimum re- system, which accounts cal path going forward Aragão said. The Senate scheduled a
tirement age of 65 for men for some 40% of total fed- into the medium term, and Such awareness has been debate on final amend-
and 62 for women. That's eral spending, according does address immediate constructed over the ments to the main text of
up from averages of 56 to a note Tuesday from the population aging problems course of years and reflects the reform for Wednesday.
and 53, according to the research firm Capital Eco- and so on," De Bolle said in a shift in public opinion. Of Tuesday's vote was a win
Organization for Economic nomics. a phone interview. people surveyed in July for Bolsonaro after several
Co-operation and Devel- That load has grown along The reform means Daniel by pollster Datafolha, 47% defeats in Congress. His
opment, a club of nations with life expectancy, and Aragão, a 38-year-old who supported the proposal. A administration reportedly
whose populations on av- increasingly limits the gov- works in human resources reform submitted by Bolso- plans to submit a follow-up
erage retire at about 66. ernment's ability to direct for the federal govern- naro's predecessor, Michel proposal with more contro-
The overhaul also intro- funds toward other ar- ment in Rio de Janeiro, will Temer, was less ambitious versial changes to the pen-
duces progressive brackets eas. Brazil will save about have to labor an extra five but got significantly less sion system and will include
for contribution amounts $190 billion over the next years before he can retire. support. President Luiz Ina- states and municipalities.
as well as limits for survivor decade as a result of the He accepts that sacrifice, cio Lula da Silva achieved The lower house is evalu-
benefits and includes a overhaul, said Monica de despite what he perceives only a partial reform after ating a separate bill that
period for transition to the Bolle, senior fellow at the as some of the overhaul's President Fernando Hen- would modify pensions of
new system. Peterson Institute for Inter- shortcomings. rique Cardoso failed to the military and police.
The intent is to curb a swell- national Economics. "I can understand that re- make any changes. Several senators who voted
ing deficit in Brazil's "ex- "It's good enough to put form is needed, or else the The initial proposal of Bolso- for the overhaul said more
tremely generous" pension Brazil on a more sound fis- system will soon collapse," naro's far-right administra- will be needed.q

Bolivia's Morales says coup underway as rivals dispute vote

By CARLOS VALDEZ vote percentage. Opposi- He cited the burning by
Associated Press tion backers have staged protesters of electoral offic-
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bo- rowdy protests since the es in two cities where votes
livian President Evo Mo- vote. Morales, Bolivia's first are being tallied as proof of
rales said Wednesday his indigenous president and the coup. "We are waiting
opponents are trying to the region's longest-ruling for a report from the Elec-
stage a coup against him leader, repeated his claim toral Tribunal, although the
as protests grow over a dis- that he won outright and TREP (a quick count) has
puted election he claims said his opponents were already said that we won,"
he won outright, though a conspiring to oust him. the president said. But the
nearly finished vote count "I want to denounce to the tribunal's quick count web-
suggests it might head to people and the world that page, whose results are
a second round. The left- a coup d'etat is underway," not binding, showed Mo-
ist leader needs a 10 per- Morales said in a press con- rales with a 10.1 percent-
centage-point margin over Bolivia's President Evo Morales speaks during a press conference ference in which he did not age point lead over Mesa
his closest rival to avoid a at the presidential palace in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, Oct. take any questions. "The with about 96 percent of
December runoff in which 23, 2019. right wing has prepared it polling place counts veri-
he'd risk being defeated by Associated Press with international support." fied Wednesday. Opposi-
a united opposition in his lead with just 3.22 percent and international vote Morales did not specify tion leaders, in turn, have
bid for a fourth consecutive of the votes from Sunday's monitors have expressed where the alleged interna- called on Bolivians to de-
term in office. election left to count. He concern at an earlier un- tional support for the coup fend "the citizen vote and
And the vote count led former President Carlos explained daylong gap in is coming from, but he reg- democracy" in the streets
Wednesday had him with Mesa 46.49% to 37.01%. reporting results before a ularly rails against U.S. im- against suspicions of fraud
a 9.48 percentage point Mesa has warned of fraud sudden spurt in Morales' perialism in Latin America. by Morales's party.q