To help retirees who have spent most of their working lives in low-wage jobs, the report called for several changes in the calculations of the special minimum primary insurance amount.

FORBES: 'Family Care' Benefit Could Fix Retiree Pay Gap

Teachers there used to earn half the minimum salary, and few had themselves been educated beyond primary level.

ECONOMIST: Social policy in Brazil

The government has also arranged for Petrobras to be the primary operator of all pre-salt oil fields and to have a minimum 30 percent stake in all pre-salt joint ventures, an arrangement that is still competitive in relation to other major oil-producing states like Nigeria and Venezuela (and without the high militant and political risk).

FORBES: Brazil: Strategic Planning For Pre-Salt