Brazil's Temer: criticism of social security reform is "terrorism"

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Michel Temer Tuesday dismissed the criticism of his administration's social security system reform proposal as a kind of "terrorism."

In a speech made during his meeting with President of Bolivia Evo Morales, President Temer commented on the reform, which the government has been trying to approve before the end of the year among difficulties.

The president said the proposed minimum age for retirement will only take effect in 20 years, but critics say it should be now.

"Once in a while they spread things like 'the government will take your retirement pension,'" he said, comparing this to a form of "terrorism."

Among other changes, the highly controversial bill features a minimum retirement age regardless of how many years one has worked, a longer minimum period of work to be eligible for retirement (40 years), and changes to the special retirement regulations of some professions.

The bill faced a lot of opposition, even among the president's coalition in the Congress. Lawmakers hesitate to approve it less than one year away from the congressional election, for fear that voting for the reform will hurt their chances for re-election.

The reform bill was first submitted to the Congress a year ago and was approved in May by a special committee of the House. Since then, the reform has been on hold for submission to vote. It has recently been modified in order to be more palatable to the Congress. Enditem