LatinNews Daily - 16 July 2018 |
Brazil increasingly dependent on the elderly |
Development: On 15 July O Estado de São Paulo, the Brazilian daily, published a study by LCA Consultores which shows that the number of Brazilian homes in which more than 75% of income comes from pensions grew by over 12% in the last year. Significance: Brazilians’ increasing dependence on pension income explains some of the difficulty that the administration led by President Michel Temer had in trying to reform the social security system. It also highlights how challenging any pension reform will be for the next government due to be elected in the 7 October general election. Given how heavily pension liabilities are weighing on the country’s overstretched public accounts, almost all of the pre-candidates running for the presidency accept the need to reform the pension system - but none have given a clear indication about how they intend to do so.
Looking Ahead: Unemployment in Brazil remains stubbornly high, at close to 13m people. The underwhelming economic recovery, with domestic economic growth now looking set to come in at around 1.5% this year, does not look as if it will provide a big uptick in employment any time soon.
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