Consumer protection is once again State policy in Brazil – 07/03/2023 – Maria Inês Dolci

In March, consumer month, great news: consumer protection has once again become State policy in Brazil.

At the beginning of this month, the 29th Ordinary Meeting of the SNDC (National System of Consumer Protection) was held in Brasília, in which the participants proposed: revocation of decree nº 11.150/2022 (the existential minimum); de-contingency of resources from the Diffuse Rights Fund (among them, repairing damages to consumers); creation and implementation of the National Consumer Protection Policy; restructuring of the National Consumer Defense Council.

The proposed repeal of the existential minimum decree stems from the insufficient amount defined by the previous government for the portion of income not subject to judicial collection, as it is used to ensure the dignity of the human person. By the decree in force, the existential minimum would be just over R$ 300.

The Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino, reinforced that, soon, the Desenrola Program will be launched, for the renegotiation of family debts.

During the event, the Minister of Justice also announced that the ministry will release R$ 15 million to state and municipal Procons to encourage programs to combat over-indebtedness. The release will be made from Procons projects sent to Senacon (National Consumer Secretariat) and the amount will be distributed according to proposals and needs.

In addition, the Letter of Union and Reconstruction of the National Consumer Protection Policy proposes, among other priority actions for the SNDC, to revoke decree No. 10,887, which provides for the organization of the SNDC; include a super-indebtedness module on the ProConsumidor platform; prepare a technical note on payroll credit cards, bank fraud and conscious payroll loans; dealing with bank fraud; elaborate a technical note on the contracting of digital services by the elderly consumer; prioritizing consumer interests in public policies to the detriment of suppliers’ protagonism; promote the culture of sustainable consumption; recognize technological and digital vulnerability.

Finally, this approach between SNDC members (Procons, Public Prosecutor’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, Consumer Protection Police Stations, Special Civil Courts and civil consumer protection organizations) with Senacon and the Ministry of Justice was a good start.

We are attentive to the next steps.

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