Weekly Report - 04 May 2017 (WR-17-17)

After months of back-room negotiations, concessions and threats, Brazil’s long-awaited pension overhaul finally faces its first legislative test. A special committee of the federal lower chamber of congress is expected to vote on the text of the bill imminently, with the government desperate to avoid any last-minute changes which might open the flood gates to others. Though the bill will pass the committee stage easily, it may prove harder for the government to secure victory on the floor of the lower house, where it needs three-fifths’ support to progress.