BRAZIL: Pension Reform Rapporteur Counts 290 Votes For The Legislation

(RTTNews) - There are 290 votes in favor of the pension reform bill in the Brazilian House of Representatives, or 18 less than the minimum required to pass the legislation, according to Arthur Maia, the lawmaker in charge of the bill in the House floor.

He added that the House would only vote on the pension reform if support for the bill increases to 330.

"We have to go to the floor with a safety margin," he said. The representative has criticized the attitude of some allied lawmakers who still hesitate to declare support for the pension reform.

He added that the administration of President Temer could be harmed if lawmakers do not vote on the pension reform by next week.

Finally, he claimed to be optimistic that the reform will be ready to be voted upon with the conclusion of the discussion phase, which will begin on Thursday.