Brazil’s president-elect urged the current administration to revive a pension overhaul before his inauguration on Jan. 1, a move cheered by markets as crucial to jump-starting an ailing economy.
Jair Bolsonaro, who won 55% of the vote in Sunday’s runoff, plans to start talks next week with President Michel Temer to try to pass a stalled pension reform plan by the end of this year.
“Any step taken now could help us next year,” Bolsonaro said Tuesday in an interview with local station Bandnews TV.
His comments were seen as a sign the new administration is intent on keeping its campaign promise to tackle complex economic issues.
“It’s a great opportunity to solve one of the biggest economic challenges Brazil faces,” said Antonio Madeira, an economist at the consulting firm MCM in São Paulo. “It’s like a bad illness, the sooner you treat it the better.”
A full version of this story can be found on WSJ.com
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