Brazil's Temer says not to give up social security reform

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Michel Temer said Wednesday that he will never give up the intended social security reform, on which a vote has been postponed to Feb. 19, 2018 by the Congress.

Before the voting takes place, the government will work to clarify the main points to congressmen, Temer said.

"I want to tell the federal representatives that we will never give up on the social security (reform). We will not give up in Brazil's name," he said.

The social security reform that has sparked heated debate in the country is a constitutional amendment proposal that requires a two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate to be approved.

The government said the reform is necessary to tackle a huge deficit, to ensure the payment of future pensions for those who are currently contributing to the system.

However, the opposition argues that calculations showing a deficit in the system were fraudulent. They also said that the reform would hurt those hard physical laborers, such as workers in construction and agricultural sectors.

The bill sets a minimum retirement age of 65 for men and 62 for women, regardless of how many years one has worked. Critics say in some poor states in Brazil, life expectancy is not much beyond 65, so people would hardly have time to enjoy retirement. Enditem