RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles denied Wednesday that the government gave up on submitting the entire the social security reform bill to vote.
According to the minister, the "mistaken" information caused a sharp fall in the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange during the day.
"What upset the markets was the mistaken information that the government threw in the towel on the matter of the congressional approval of the social security reform," he said.
Earlier in the day, local media reported that the government had given up on trying to approve the entire reform, and was instead focusing on approving a much simpler bill.
Meirelles did not deny that a simpler version of the reform is a possibility. He reiterated that the government still intends to submit the reform to vote in 2017.
The social security reform bill is a constitutional amendment proposal that requires a two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate to be approved.
However, the reform is deeply controversial and the congress has only a month before the end-of-year recess, so there is little time to approve a broad reform bill which is likely to stir up a lot of discussion.
While the government says the reform will help tackle a huge deficit in the social security system, ensuring that the next generations are able to collect their retirement pensions, the opposition holds that the calculations showing a deficit in the system are fraudulent.
Rodrigo Maia, head of the House of Representatives, whose Democrats party is part of President Michel Temer's coalition, said Wednesday he will not submit the reform to vote as there is no chance for approval.
