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Ten years after elderly bill of rights, elderly people's living standards improved in Brazil
Criado em 01/10/13 14h49
e atualizado em 01/10/13 14h51
Por Thais Leitão
Edição:s
Fonte:Agência Brasil
Brasilia – Ms. Ilda Maria do Carmo is one of those people who believe that aging does not necessarily mean losing physical stamina for exercise and appetite for cultural activities. At age 68, she goes to the gym three times a week in her spare time, where she walks on the treadmill and does some weight training. Plus, she reads weekly magazines and books on a range of topics and regularly goes to arts and craft fairs, theaters, and music concerts.
In order to fit all these costs into her household budget, Ms. Carmo relies on some of the benefits she is entitled to under the Elderly Charter, which completes its tenth anniversary on Tuesday (October 1st) – including half-priced tickets for theater, movies, and cultural events. In her opinion, the convenience added by such bonuses encourages elderly people to pursue a more fulfilling life.
“We already have to spend so much on medicines, so this [kind of incentive] comes in really handy to help us live a busy, even enjoyable life,” she said. “It makes people wonder, but I tell you this does make a difference. As long as I can, I'll be moving around a lot,” she added.
Benefits like this, granted to 60-year-olders and above by the Elderly Charter, have been a major legal milestone in Brazil, according to demographer Ana Amélia Camarano, from the Institute of Applied Economic Research (“IPEA”). She also cites criminalizing violence inflicted specifically on the elderly and setting penalties for non-compliance with the legal provisions, and said Public Prosecution is responsible for enforcing them.
On the other hand, Camarano regrets that the Charter fails to set priorities for implementation or to define funding sources, as is the case with half-priced tickets. In her opinion, those gaps result in poorly planned cost distribution within society.
"While these provisions are key to promoting social integration and active social engagement of the elderly population, as social security benefits became more comprehensive since the Constitution was enacted in 1988, aging started to dissociate from poverty. You can no longer say that the elderly population is poorer than other age groups,” she said. The researcher suggests that the benefits now be granted on grounds of necessity rather than age.
Camarano also pointed out that in 1994, life expectancy in Brazil was estimated at 68 years, and rose to 74 years in 2011. This, she added, has coupled with improvements in the physical, cognitive and mental health of the elderly, as well as wider social engagement.
Mr. Eliseu Pereira, 84, agrees that 60 years old is “too early” for a person to be considered old, but ponders that people age at different paces.
“Undoubtedly, nowadays people can hold back the pace of aging. We now rely on a number of amenities that didn't use to be available to the elderly before. Take my father, for example – he hardly knew what a gym was; whereas I myself attend one regularly, I do Pilates – I'm a much fitter gentleman than he was,” he laughed.
“Not all people age the same way, though. At 79, I went on a trip to Israel, and many young people in my group were not nearly as energetic as I was. For example, I left most of them behind as they couldn't make it to the top of Mount Sinai,” said Pereira. Still, he thinks it would be unfair to defer the minimum age at which “long-time taxpayers who have contributed to social development for so long” are finally entitled to the benefits outlined in the Elderly Charter.
Editors: Marcos Chagas / Olga Bardawil
Translator: Mayra Borges
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