RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Michel Temer denied Friday that the social security system reform would be abandoned.
In a TV interview aired earlier in the evening, the president said the government did not admit a defeat of the reform, denying rumors of failure and statements made by Chief of Staff Eliseu Padilha earlier this week that the battle to approve the reform would end this month.
"I have not given up," said Temer, adding that the social security reform bill must be voted on at least for the first round in February.
As a constitutional amendment proposal, the social security reform needs to be approved in two rounds in both the House and the Senate.
The problem is that the bill is so controversial that there are insufficient votes for it to be approved.
The government has been working to convince congressmen for months to support the bill, which needs 308 votes to pass, but is said to have garnered only 270 votes in favor of the reform.
The social security reform bill will be submitted to a vote in the House for the first round on Feb. 19.
