Bolsa Família was a socio-economic policy that was first established in 2003 during Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s first presidential mandate which was part of Lula’s wider plan to reduce inequalities and poverty levels throughout Brazil. One part of the Bolsa Família plan was the Fome Zero (zero hunger) programme to eradicate hunger in the country which led to Lula being recognised as a Global Champion in the Battle Against Hunger by the World Food Programme in 2016. Bolsa Família was implemented until October 2021 when Bolsonaro ended the programme. Despite this, on the 2nd of March 2023, Lula launched a “Novo (New) Bolsa Família” - signaling the return of his previous programme.

The nuts and bolts of Bolsa Família

The International Labour Organisation described the Bolsa Família programme that was launched in 2003 as a “conditional income transfer programme” that aimed to reduce social inequalities by promoting social development linked to school attendance, health, and nutirtion. Bolsa Familía unified sectorial conditional cash transfer programmes such as Bolsa Escola (school grant), Bolsa Alimentação (food stipend), Cartão Alimentação, and Auxilio-Gas under one umbrella. The programme focused on investing in the country’s human capital through conditions that ensured human development. For instance, families were conditioned to ensure that their children attended school and that their children received all of their required vaccinations, etc. From 2012, the programme included a financial bonus to overcome extreme poverty, which covered the difference between the per capita family income and the value of the extreme poverty line. 

Even though the programme only represented an average 0.5% of Brazil’s GDP, it had significant effects on inequalities in Brazil. This is primarily due to the fact that about 70 percent of the programme’s financial resources reached the poorest 20 percent of Brazil’s population, ensuring that the programme aided those most in need. By 2017, the programme had led to a decreae of around 15 percent of people living in poverty and a further 25 percent reduction of those living in extreme poverty - making the programme a great success. 

Not only did the programme reduce poverty throughout the country, it also helped to improve school attendance as families were conditioned to send their children to school to receive their Bolsa Família stipend. For instance, in 2017, 95.4 percent of children aged between 6 and 15 years and 92.7 percent of those aged between 16-17 had school attendance records above the minimum requirement.

From Bolsa Família to Auxílio Brasil: an electoral tool?

Jair Bolsonaro is known for being a fierce critic of Bolsa Família. He called for the end of the programme arguing that it creates a poorer and more ignorant population and that the programme doesn’t encourage adults to work and hence, individuals live off the state. Hence, Bolsonaro accused Bolsa Família of being used as an electoral tool for the Workers’ Party to win the votes of the poorest populations, however, in a recent publication, Simone R. Bohn highlights that there isn’t a positive correlation as poor voters in recipient of Bolsa Família voted differently across regions. 

Even though Bolsonaro brought an end to the Bolsa Família programme in October 2021 and despite his critcisims of the programme that gave money to the country’s poorest citizens, he decided to create his own socio-economic programme titled, Auxílio Brasil (Brazil’s Assistance), which replaced Lula’s Bolsa Família. This change was announced by the Federal government on the 20th of October 2021 and was later approved by the Congress on the 25th of November and the Senate on the 2nd of December. 

Auxílio Brasil was more the less the same as Bolsa Família, apart from the fact that the cash transfers had increased from R$400 to R$600.  Apart from this there weren’t any major differences between the two programmes. Despite Bolsonaro having been a fierce critic of socio-economic programmes, we question Bolsonaro’s decision to create a new social policy that increased handouts. One of the main reasons behind this was the presidential elections that took place in October 2022. The first installement of Auxílio Brasil was executed on the 9th of August 2022, a time when Bolsonaro appeared to be behind Lula in the polls of voting intention. The government confronted these accusations by stating that the decision was taken in light of the increasing price of food and cost of energy. We may argue that Bolsonaro wanted to disconnect Lula from the country’s main socio-economic policy by implementing his own policy in the hope of establishing his own legacy which in turn would increase his number of votes.  This was not effective as Lula became president. In addition to this, many state that Bolsonaro does not hold a legacy in social policy programmes.

The return of Bolsa Família

On the 2nd of March a ceremony was held in Brasilia to launch the new Bolsa Família programme where this new version will pay a minimum amount of R$600.00 to each family, with an additional R$150.00 for each child up to 6 years old. In addition, an increase of R$ 50.00 for each young person between 7 and 18 years of age. Pregnant women will also receive an additional R$ 50.00. Families with income less than R$219 a month will be eligible for the programme. The first payments are expected to start from the 20th of March onwards.

Lula stated, “Bolsa Família is not a program of a government or a president of the Republic. It's from Brazilian society. And we need, collectively, public agencies and society, to supervise the single register, so that the benefit reaches those who need it.” This highlights the fact that he doesn’t look at socio-economic programmes as electoral tools like Bolsonaro did, but as a tool that Brazilian society needs to develop and reduce inequalities. 

Similar to the previous Bolsa Família programme, eligible families must ensure that their children’s vaccinations are up to date whilst also ensuring that they attend school. Children between the ages of 4-5 are expected to attain a minimum school attendance of 60% whilst the minimum attendance rate for those between the ages of 6-18 is 75%. The minimum attendance requirement has been criticised for being too low to be able to fully improve educational attainment within the country. Furthermore, around 1.4 million families will be excluded from receiving the new Bolsa Família primarily due to irregularities such as being a one person family. The definition of family under Bols Família includes at least one adult and one child. 

The biggest challenge that the Novo Bolsa Família programme faces is its approval by Congress. Since the 2nd of March, Congress has 120 days to approve the programme. This will be a challenge seeing that the Workers’ Party (PT) only has 9 out of 81 seats in the Congress. Although the party has formed a government with other parties, they only have 32 seats, thus having a parliamentary minority. In order to pass the law, Lula will need to ensure that all members of the government vote in its favour whilst also ensuring support by independent congressmen and congresswomen as  well as a few votes from the opposition.

Conclusion

Bolsa Família is celebrated for highlighting that it is possible to deal with poverty and income inequality at the same time by creating a sustainable long-term programme which has a positive impact on the lives of millions of people. Bolsonaro removed the programme in 2021 to create Auxílio Brasil, which was branded as a campaign tool. Looking at the future of socio-economic programmes in Brazil, it is likely that we will see a reincarnation of Bolsa Família, however, Lula will need to pass the first hurdle and ensure that the programme will be adopted by congress. Failure to do so will not only risk the future of Bolsa Família, but also raise questions about the implementation of socio-economic policies within the country. 

*photo faken from Brasil de Fato.