Billion dollar pension scandal rocks Brazil before 2026 Wahlen-Sri Lanka Guardian

The Brazilian government stumbles from a massive pension fraud scandal that has already forced the resignation of a minister and threatens to overshadow President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva next year. The scandal, in which the pensions of around six million pensioners are valued by R $ 6.3 billion (approx. 1.1 billion US dollars) are involved, has re -lied up concerns about corruption in connection with Lulas Workers' Party (PT).

Investigations show that civil servants with fraudsters between 2019 and 2024 have worked with fraudsters with fraudulent deductions through Sham Union memberships and false employee fees. Although the program began during the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro, the government under Lula was severely criticized because of a slow and inadequate reaction.

Older voters, an important population group that had retained some of the highest approval ratings from Lula, now feel cheated. “The pensioners complained and nothing happened,” said Nikolas Ferreira's right congress in a widespread video that was shared more than 130 million times on social media. He accused the government of undergoing billions of pensioners in need of protection.

Despite constant economic growth and low unemployment, inflation continues to undermine the public's trust, whereby surveys have a disapproval of 53% for the administration of Lula. Analysts warn that the scandal could seriously damage Lula's chances in the upcoming elections. “This event is very negative for both admission and re -election,” said Andrei Roman, founder of the data consulting company Atlasintel.

The initial inertia of the government was partly based on the delayed recognition of the problem; The Ministry of Social Security was first made aware of complaints in 2023, but last year only took significant measures by tightening the rules for pension deductions. Since then, the federal and corruption authorities of the federal government have arrested six suspects associated with the program.

The controversy also triggered political consequences in Lula's coalition. The Democratic Labor Party (PDT) withdrew from the government after the scandal and signaled that the political alliances are weaker, just as Lula is preparing for another election. Critics also refer to Lula's slow political judgment in the administration of the crisis.

Corruption has long been a sensitive problem for the workers' party, which has been exposed to devastating bribery scandals in the past. Although Lula's earlier convictions were lifted and his political comeback allowed, pension fraud scandal threatens to reopen wounds for the party.

The government insists that the fraud was created during Bolsonaro during the term of office and promised to reimburse affected pensioners. However, the supporters of Bolsonaro took the opportunity to attack the administration of Lula and push for a parliamentary examination of the case, which extends the negative attention of the media.

For many pensioners such as the 75-year-old José Antônio Mateus from São Paulo, who discovered inexplicable deductions for his pension slides, the scandal reflects wider frustrations with the Brazilian political establishment. “The whole system is to blame,” he said. “We have been suffering from corruption for a long time.”