Brazil’s Lula announces 15% increase in flagship welfare payments ahead of key election
- On Thursday in Brasilia, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed a decree raising Bolsa Familia minimum benefits by 15%, increasing monthly payments from 600 reais to 691 reais next month.
- Planning Minister Bruno Moretti stated the adjustment offsets accumulated inflation of 15.04% since the program's March 2023 relaunch, maintaining purchasing power without requiring additional budget expenditures.
- The benefit increase costs the government 5.8 billion reais in 2026 and 22 billion reais in 2027; Finance Minister Dario Durigan noted the program remains central to reducing poverty and food insecurity.
- With polls showing Lula and rival Flavio Bolsonaro virtually tied before the October 4 vote, critics compare this move to former President Jair Bolsonaro's pre-election cash surges in 2022 totaling about 273 billion reais.
- Introduced by Lula in 2003, the cash-transfer program provides aid conditional on school attendance and health requirements, with academic studies crediting the initiative with significant reductions in inequality and infant mortality.
78 Articles
78 Articles
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a decree on Thursday to increase the benefits of his flagship social assistance program by 15%, weeks before the first round of the presidential elections.
Brazil's Lula announces 15% increase in flagship welfare payments ahead of key election
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed a decree on Thursday increasing benefits under his flagship welfare program by 15%, weeks before the first round of the presidential elections.
The 15% readjustment of the Bolsa Família announced this Thursday by the government brings a new impact to a public budget that is already unbalanced, according to economist Marcus Pestana, executive director of the Independent Tax Institution (IFI), organ linked to the Federal Senate. The economist points out that there is a difference between the projections of the IFI and the government itself regarding the budget project. 我The government poi…
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