Insider

“Labor and pensions like poking a hornet’s nest,” says Temer

michel-temer-labor-pensions
Former Brazilian President Michel Temer, pictured during the ratification of the 2017 labor reform. Photo: Alan Santos/PR

During a speech on Friday, former President Michel Temer discussed the two headline achievements of his term in office: the controversial labor and pension reforms

Mr. Temer took over in 2016, after the Workers’ Party’s Dilma Rousseff was ousted by Congress. On paper, Ms. Rousseff was impeached for not complying with Brazil’s fiscal rules, which saw her replacement introduce an austere public spending cap. 

In 2017, his short administration also passed a controversial labor reform, which has not had the desired effect and is being challenged in the Supreme Court.

Mr. Temer noted that “popular measures, unlike populist measures, are only applauded in the future” and that “dealing with labor and pension issues will always be like poking a hornet’s nest.”