The Real Story of Brazil’s Pension Reform
The Americas Quarterly (11.07.2019)9 the constitutional amendment to the second and final vote at the Lower House has left many analysts scratching their heads. How is it that a controversial and usually unpopular reform everywhere in the world wound up with significant support both in the Brazilian Congress and among the population at large, including by stirring street demonstrations in its favor? There are a few competing theories out there, but I posit that the Brazilian outcome was mainly the result of political dysfunction and extreme polarization within society.