The current (2019) social security counter-reform under the aegis of finance capital: critical analysis

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze, through a theoretical study, how financial capital in Brazil, especially from the ultra-liberal agenda initiated by Michel Temer's illegitimate government, and continued by the current one, seeks its incessant reproduction through the dismantling of social security. To this end, it first devotes itself to a brief critical analysis of the current political-economic conjuncture, in times of crisis, apprehending global phenomena inherent to contemporary capitalism and their rebounds to social protection systems, especially to social security systems. It then goes into the details of the current approved and promulgated Brazilian social security counter-reform, which gave rise to Constitutional Amendment (EC) 103/2019, analyzing the main changes, highlighting their impacts on workers, as well as denouncing the fallacy of the arguments used by the current government to convince the population that 'reform' was needed. Finally, it is concluded that this counter-reform poses difficulties in access to social security benefits for workers, as well as lowering their values. And it reinforces the commitment of the Brazilian capitalist state to the reproduction of capital, through the appropriation of the public fund.