Brasília, July 7, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The federal government wants to effectuate a Social Security reform that "increases fiscal equity and reduces distortions in benefits." For this reason, "it is important to maintain the content of the proposal, which is coherent and balanced." This was the reaction of the Minister of Social Security, Ricardo Berzoini, to the news that a majority of the 38 members of the special commission that is examining the proposal in the Chamber of Deputies is in favor of transition rules for determining the minimum retirement age and the calculation of benefits.

Interviewed on the TV Globo's "Good Morning, Brazil," program, the Minister said that "the government is not worried about yielding on this or that point. What we want is to preserve the idea of the proposal." As for the fact that the majority of the 453 amendments submitted to alter the Executive's bill came from the PT itself and the other parties that form the Administration's partisan support base, Berzoini pointed out that the PT was always a pluralistic bloc in dealing with various matters and that the presentation of amendments is a normal part of parliamentary life.

He recalled that, traditionally, all bills receive amendments when they arrive in the Legislature, and he acknowledged that the Social Security Reform Bill might eventually undergo some adjustments. "What is important for us is the maintenance of the content of the proposal, the goals of which were discussing for months, and this conception has to be preserved," the Minister declared, even though, for the first time, he admitted the possibility of negotiating specific items in the original bill.

He did not go into details about the transition to set the retirement age for civil servants. He said only that "it is fundamental that retirement takes place at a reasonable age," and he thinks that the transition rule under discussion should stimulate civil servants to continue working, "for the good of the civil service." (DAS)