President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers' Party) launched, on Thursday (2), the new Family Grant (Bolsa Família, in Portuguese), which provides for the distribution of $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 is effective immediately, but needs to be approved by the National Congress within 120 days to be definitively turned into law.
Among the new rules, the program establishes a minimum value of $115 per family, in addition to two complementary benefits: the First Childhood, and Income and Citizenship. The first determines an additional value of $29 for each child up to 6 years of age in the family composition, while the second grants an extra value for families that are below the poverty line and have an income of up to $34 per person.
The new Family Grant also brings two new guarantees: the protection rule and the guaranteed return. The protection rule states that if a family improves their lives, their income can increase by up to half a minimum wage per capita without them having to leave the program immediately. The guaranteed return rule says that families that 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 article, read the main new features 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 the Family Grant and, with this benefit, she was able to have access to higher education through quotas and educational programs of the federal government. In his speech, the President of the Republic highlighted the importance of the program to ensure social justice and said that hunger is a threat that must be taken care of with total priority.
“We are assuming a commitment that on March 20th the payment of this program will begin,” said Lula. “This is not a program of a government, of a president, but of the Brazilian society. And it will only work if society assumes the responsibility of supervising the Unified Registry (CadÚnico, in Portuguese) that we are doing. Because the program will only work if the registry allows it to reach the women and children who need it”.
On stage, alongside Lula and first lady Janja, were the ministers Wellington Dias (Social Development), Rui Costa (Presidency) and Camilo Santana (Education) and the president of Caixa Econômica Federal, Rita Serrano. “What we are presenting today goes in the direction of social justice. I know that the stomach growling is a warning for life under threat. Hunger is a threat, so we have to take care of it with total priority,” stated Wellington Dias.
How does the new Bolsa Família Program work?
Families with a monthly income of up to $42 per person are entitled to the program;
The benefit is $115 per family, minimum;
Families with children up to 6 years of age receive an extra $29;
Families with children and young people between the ages of 7 and 18 incomplete and with pregnant or nursing women receive an additional $10;
Up-to-date vaccines, school attendance and prenatal follow-up will be required;
Payment begins on March 20; expectation is to distribute $2.535 billion and reach 21.8 million families.
Watch the video shown at the ceremony:
Edited by: Thalita Pires e Flávia Chacon
