Government must exclude 1.55 million Bolsa Família beneficiaries in March

The Minister of Social Development, Wellington Dias, said this Friday (24) that around 1.55 million Bolsa Família beneficiaries will be removed from the program. According to the minister, the government proved, after carrying out a fine-tooth comb, that these families received the benefit irregularly.

“In March, we will withdraw more than 1.55 million [de beneficiários] of these more than 5 million that we are focused on. For these 1.55 million, we already have security that does not meet the requirements”, said Dias in an interview with GloboNews.

After reviewing the enrollments in the Single Registry (CadÚnico), the minister assesses that at least 2.5 million beneficiaries should be withdrawn from the program by May. “Our expectation is that, at the end of the screening, around 2.5 million benefits will be cancelled. Today, we have 21.9 million families receiving it,” he said.

Dias pointed out that the government continues in the “active search” for families that “have the right” to Bolsa Família, but were in the queue. The minister estimates that another 700 thousand families will be included in the program.

In addition, the minister stated that 2,265 families voluntarily asked to leave the program because they understood that they no longer needed government assistance. “We opened up the possibility for people who didn’t fit in to come forward voluntarily and leave the program. That happened to these families,” he said.