Uruguay’s Intersocial, which is made up of more than 100 social organizations, has demonstrated against the reform of the pension law that the government sent to parliament last week and raises the retirement age from 60 to 63 or 65, considering that it represents a loss of income for future retirees.
The secretary general of Fucvam and spokesman for Intersocial, Gustavo González, pointed out in declarations to Tele Sur that the reform «reflects an axis that global capital is pushing» and translates into working longer. He also criticized the fact that it is being justified as an urgent matter when it is a partial reform that does not encompass the entire Social Security system.
«We say again to the entire political spectrum that we are against this reform of retirement and pensions, that there may be many technical commissions of experts, but talk to us, the only experts in surviving in this dehumanizing system,» demanded the secretary of Gender of the Intersyndical Workers Plenary, Flor de Liz Feijoo.
The Federation of University Students of Uruguay (FEUU), the Uruguayan Federation of Housing Cooperatives for Mutual Aid (Fucvam) and the National Organization of Associations of Retired and Pensioners of Uruguay (Onajpu) also took part in the mobilization.
The objective of this reform, according to the Executive, is to «ensure a fairer, more solid and sustainable retirement system for all Uruguayans», which is why they have alluded to the fact that it is an «act of responsibility beyond the fact that it does not benefit the Government that is promoting it».
Among the reasons for carrying out the reform, the Government of Uruguay has pointed out that, in addition to the fall in births, the pension system had been in need of reform for years. «This need was becoming an urgency admitted by all, but which has not been answered until now», the Uruguayan Council of Ministers detailed in a communiqué.
