President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) launched on Thursday, March 2, the new Bolsa Família, which provides for the distribution of R$ 13.2 billion (US$ 2.5 billion) and reaches 21.86 million families. The provisional measure was signed in a ceremony at the Planalto Palace, in the presence of ministers and authorities. The program takes effect immediately, but must be approved by Congress within 120 days to become law.
Among the new rules, the program establishes a minimum value of R$ 600 (US$ 115) per family, as well as two complementary benefits: Early Childhood and Income and Citizenship. The first determines an additional value of R$ 150 (US$ 29) for each child up to six years of age in the family, while the second grants an extra value to families below the poverty line and with an income of up to R$ 178 (US$ 34) per person.
The new Bolsa Família also provides two new guarantees: the protection rule and guaranteed profitability. The protection rule establishes that, if a family improves its life, its income can increase up to half the minimum salary per capita without having to leave the program immediately. The guaranteed return rule, for its part, says that families who voluntarily leave the program or lose income and need to return to the program will have priority in their return. At the end of this report, read the main news of the program.
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At the ceremony, Lula was moved by the speech of a biology doctor. The young woman’s family was a beneficiary of Bolsa Família and, with this benefit, she was able to access higher education through quotas and educational programs of the federal government. In his speech, the President of the Republic highlighted the importance of Bolsa Família to guarantee social justice and affirmed that hunger is a threat that must be treated with the highest priority.
“We promise that the payment for this program will begin on March 20,” Lula said. “This is not the program of a government, of a president, but of Brazilian society. And it will only work if society assumes the responsibility of supervising the CadÚnico (Unique Registry) that we are doing. Because the program will only work if the registry allows that it reaches the women and children who need it.”
On stage, along with Lula and First Lady Janja, were the ministers Wellington Dias (Social Development), Rui Costa (Chief of Cabinet) and Camilo Santana (Education) and the president of the state bank Caixa Federal, Rita Serrano. “What we are presenting today is in the direction of social justice. I know that the rumbling in the stomach is a call to attention about life being threatened. Hunger is a threat, so we have to deal with it as a top priority,” said Wellington Dias .
How does the new Bolsa Família work?
Families with a monthly income of up to 218 reais (42 dollars) per person and
– The benefit is at least R$ 600 (115 dollars) per family
– Families with children up to 6 years old receive a supplement of 150 reais (29 dollars)
– Families with children and young people between the ages of 7 and under 18 and with pregnant or lactating women receive an additional 50 reais (10 dollars).
Up-to-date vaccinations, school attendance and prenatal follow-up will be required.
Payment begins March 20; the expectation is to distribute 13,200 million reais (2,535 million dollars) and reach 21.8 million families.
Watch the video projected at the ceremony:
Editing: Thalita Pires and Flávia Chacon
