Bolsa Família: program has lower value in July – 07/18/2023 – Market

Bolsa Família payments in July show a setback in the program, which is President Lula’s (PT) social showcase. The average amount to be received per residence dropped to R$684 this month, after the record of R$705 in June.

The government’s forecast was that, as of June, when the reformulation of the program was fully implemented, the average benefit per family would reach R$714 per month. However, a month after that deadline, there was a drop.

Regarding the number of families, July also shows a decline. Around 20.9 million households will receive Bolsa Família this month. That’s nearly 320,000 fewer than in June, when 21.2 million received the record income transfer.

Since Lula took office, approximately 1 million families have left the program. There were 21.9 million beneficiaries in January, when it was still called Auxílio Brasil, a social brand of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

Sought, the MDS (Ministry of Social Development), responsible for Bolsa Família, said that the decrease in the number of families is expected in the reformulation of the program because it involves the search for undue registrations.

An example is that, in July, there is a database integration that allowed identifying 341 thousand families with income above the allowed to remain in the program. This group was therefore excluded from Bolsa Família.

“The number of families served depends directly on the dynamics of entries and exits from the Program, which, in turn, is influenced by the cadastral qualification process of the Cadastro Único, started in March of this year”, said the folder, in a note.

Regarding the drop in the value of the benefit, the ministry points to the so-called protection rule as a factor. If a family gets a job, it will be able to remain in the program, but with a reduced benefit amount. About 2.2 million families are in this situation and will receive R$ 378.91 this month.

This rule is applied for up to two years for the family and reduces by 50% the amount of income to be received in the program. If the family loses its job during this period, it already has the return of the full benefit guaranteed.

The portfolio holder, Wellington Dias (PT), has been the target of criticism at the Planalto Palace.

As shown to Sheet, President Lula himself has told allies that he is disappointed with the minister’s performance. The portfolio, which takes care of Bolsa Família, has a budget of R$ 276 billion — more than Health and Education.

The president has been complaining to allies that Dias needs to be more focused and present more positive agendas. As the ministry is one of the government’s main showcases, Lula hoped that the portfolio would be a barn of advertisements beneficial to the president’s image, but he does not see this happening.

On another front, Dias entered the centrão’s sights for not having, so far, released amendments coveted by the block of center and right-wing parties.

Despite the fact that the MDS has become a target of the centrão, Lula and the PT seek to shield the portfolio, seen as strategic for the party, which wants to continue at the head of Bolsa Família. Members of the Planalto Palace, however, do not believe that the minister should remain in office in the ministerial reform negotiated by the president with leaders of the Chamber.

The reformulation of Bolsa Família was a campaign promise by Lula and was treated as a priority measure by the Civil House in the first 100 days of government.

In March, when Lula edited the MP (provisional measure) for the new program, the government maintained the minimum of R$600 per family –created by Bolsonaro– and added just one of the promised benefits: the additional R$150 per child aged 0 to 6 years.

The remaining installments of R$50 for children and adolescents between 7 and 18 years of age and R$50 for pregnant women will be paid as of June. This made the benefit reach a record level.