A reforma deformada

Abstract

The demographic issue is obviously cited to justify the need for social security reform in Brazil. So far, so good. The problem lies in the deformed approach to the process. Among other characteristics of this deformation, the current Administration, capitalists, media sectors, and Brazilian Congress attempt to compare dimensions that are not comparable, as in their references to developed countries, while trying to equate what is not equatable, except in the long term, as in the case of regional differences, rural workers' conditions, and women's double burden.The current article focuses (but not exclusively) on the debate's demographic dimension. Other deformations and distortions such as ignoring social security's legal framework, the lack of transparency in the reform process, with a refusal to disclose the statistics for social security, claiming the existence of a deficit by tallying all the expenditures but only part of the revenues, the dubious and unexplained actuarial forecasting model as grounds for the contribution time of 49 years, the increase in age for access to the Noncontributory Regular Pension (BPC), and extension of the contribution time to 25 years in order to apply for retirement, among others, can be better elucidated and deconstructed in publications 1,2,3 .For some time, the more conservative political sectors in Brazil and those in central government, starting with the Fernando Henrique Cardoso Administration, have painted population aging as a dire threat to the public coffers and ultimately to the very survival of Brazil's social security system. Even as they have repeated this mantra, they have introduced whatever social security reforms the balance of political forces allowed. During the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Administration, the 85/95 factors were implemented for retirement of Federal civil servants: minimum age of 55 years and 30 years of contribution for women and 60 years of age and 35 years of contribution for men, with transition rules for workers that were already part of the single legal regime (RJU), the elimination of full retirement for new civil servants, and the creation of a complementary retirement fund for new civil servants. In relation to the General Social Security Regime (RGPS), and already with an eye towards a possible fiscal adjustment, President Dilma Rousseff sent to the Brazilian Congress her Executive Order 664/2014, which among other measures made significant attacks on important benefits under the RGPS, such as spouse's pension in case of death, illness benefits, disability pension, and reclusion benefits.This interpretation of the demographic trend highlights the negative side of aging, totally overlooking the demographic transition stage that produces more working-age people. At least since the PERSPECTIVAS PERSPECTIVES