The Americas | Brazil’s pension system

Tick, tock

The Senate debates a small measure to help disarm an economic time bomb

|SÃO PAULO

AFTER spending much of her political capital fighting corruption, Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's president, has had to pick her battles. Seven senators from her resentful coalition have already quit, and more warn they may follow. Ms Rousseff has put most of her legislative plans on hold until relations improve. But she is training her remaining firepower on what may be Brazil's biggest public-policy problem: a voracious pension system that threatens to bust the budget and damage the economy.

This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline "Tick, tock"

This way, sir

From the March 24th 2012 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from The Americas

Why Ecuador risked global condemnation to storm Mexico’s embassy

Jorge Glas, who had claimed asylum from Mexico, is accused of abetting drug networks

The world’s insatiable appetite for Canada’s maple syrup

Production is booming, but climate change is making output more erratic


Elon Musk is feuding with Brazil’s powerful Supreme Court

The court has become the de facto regulator of social media in the country