Candidate Flávio Bolsonaro's (PL) campaign promise to promote a “treasury” in public spending, inspired by Javier Milei's fiscal adjustment in Argentina, opened a dispute over the possible scope of the cuts, which have not yet been detailed by the candidate.
Candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) has asked Flávio to explain the “treasury”, while the PL senator has been denying that he will make a fiscal adjustment on pensions or social programs.
The de-indexation of pensions from the minimum wage adjustment – one of the main demands of financial market agents to reduce government expenses – would limit adjustments to inflation, without real gain.
Currently, pensions in Brazil follow the minimum wage rule, which provides for real earnings of up to 2.5% above inflation.
The coordinator of the economic team of Flávio Bolsonaro's campaign, economist Daniella Marques, has stated that Javier Milei's government is an inspiration for the campaign, considered a “great example”.
“We are going to use as inspiration what was done by the government of Javier Milei, in Argentina", said Daniella during the Esfera Brasil event, in September this year, according to a report in Exame magazine.
Among the changes that affected retirees in Argentina is the end of the social security moratorium, starting in March 2025. With this change, the number of Argentines who entered Social Security fell from 213.9 thousand, in the 1st half of 2024, to 99.6 thousand, in the 1st half of 2026.
The 53% drop in the number of new retirees was recorded by the country's Social Security Statistical Bulletins (BESS).
The halving in the number of new retirees occurs after the Milei government did not renew the so-called pension moratorium rule. This mechanism allowed workers with a minimum retirement age, but without the stipulated 30 years of contributions, to regularize the period without contributions.
In addition to making entry into the Social Security system more difficult, the Milei government changed the retirement calculation formula at the beginning of the government, in March 2024, by issuing the Necessity and Urgency Decree (DNU) 274 of 2024.
Since then, monthly fees have been adjusted monthly based on official inflation indices. The previous formula, defined by Law 27,609 of 2021, was based on two indicators: 50% of the adjustment was defined by the variation in salaries, and 50% by the Social Security collection.
The Argentine Political Economy Center (Cepa) calculated that Milei's change reduced the minimum pension floor by 21.6%, considering the values of June 2026.
“In June 2026, with the 2.6% increase in the Milei formula, the minimum retirement (without bonus) is $403,327, while, if the previous formula had been maintained, it would be $490,621 (21.6% higher)”, says the report.
Argentine lawyer specializing in social security Luciano González Etkin explained to Agência Brasil that pensions in his country had been losing purchasing power, at least since 2018.
“By suspending the formula that provided some real growth in monthly payments, what the Milei government does is consolidate the loss of purchasing power of pensions, condemning them to remain at this level”, he stated.
Another change that affected retirees under Milei was the cut in the subsidy for purchasing medicines through the National Institute of Social Services for Retirees and Pensioners (Pami).
In December 2024, Pami defined new rules for accessing free medicines. Since then, only retirees with a monthly income of up to 1.5 times the minimum social security benefit can access the program.
The lawyer for the Center for Retirees and Pensioners of the State Workers Association (ATE Nacional) of Argentina, Luciano González Etkin, highlighted that these and other measures by Milei have led retirees to hold weekly protests in Buenos Aires.
"They are in a very precarious, very worrying situation. They live with around 30% of what would be necessary for a minimum standard of dignity. It is a very worrying and inhumane situation for retirees," he told Agência Brasil.
Faced with pressure from retirees, the Argentine Congress approved three projects that aimed to improve monthly fees, one in 2024 and two in 2025.
Among the changes was the provision that the minimum pension would be 1.09 times the basic food basket for an adult. However, all measures were vetoed in full by the Argentine president, who claimed there was a lack of resources to cover expenses.
In October this year, retirement in Argentina was adjusted by 1.66%. As a result, the minimum value reached $505,748.51 pesos. This is already considering the fixed bonus of 70 thousand pesos granted to retirees who receive the lowest amounts. Converting to reais, the value is equivalent to approximately R$1,662.
