Pension reform places Rodrigo Maia as one of Brazil’s main power brokers

The clock flashed 7:52 pm when House Speaker Rodrigo Maia left his seat and took the stand to address his peers, who feverishly chanted “Rodrigo! Rodrigo!” By that moment, he knew that the pension reform, albeit watered down, was in the bag. 

Mr. Maia made sure to say that the reform was a victory of Congress—not the government. And he praised the main targets of President Bolsonaro’s acolytes: traditional center-right parties (deemed as purveyors of “old politics”), the Supreme Court, and even the opposition. A few jabs directly targeted the president: “Our role is to recover the strength of Congress, it empowers our democracy. […] Long-term investors don’t come to countries in which institutions are attacked.”

Yesterday, Brazil’s lower house passed—in only the first of two votes—the proposal to overhaul the country’s pension system. There remains a long way to go. First, lawmakers will analyze 15 proposals to amend (i.e. water down) the bill. Then, they must hold a second vote. And senators are still to weigh in, too.

However, the...