Beneficiaries of Auxílio Brasil find the amount insufficient and say that it does not influence the vote

Most beneficiaries of Auxílio Brasil, the federal government’s main program for transferring income to the poorest, are dissatisfied with the value of the benefits received and say that they do not influence their vote for president.

According to the latest Datafolha survey, carried out last week, 69% of people benefiting from the program consider the amounts received from the government insufficient, 29% think they are sufficient and 2% consider them more than sufficient.

The degree of dissatisfaction captured by the survey is the same as that observed in March, when 68% of beneficiaries classified the payments as insufficient. Auxílio Brasil pays a minimum amount of R$ 400 per month. In April, the average amount paid was R$ 403.08.

Datafolha conducted 2,556 interviews in 181 municipalities across the country on Wednesday (25) and Thursday (26). The study’s margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points. The research was contracted by Folha and registered with the Superior Electoral Court.

Created by the Jair Bolsonaro government (PL) in October last year, Auxílio Brasil serves 18 million families. It replaced Bolsa Família, a program launched by former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) that became a hallmark of PT administrations.

The aid is one of the president’s bets to combat low popularity and electorate dissatisfaction with the fragility of the economy in his reelection campaign, but research suggests that the program’s electoral impact has been reduced so far.

Dissatisfaction with Auxílio Brasil is high even among beneficiaries who approve of Bolsonaro’s performance. Among those who consider their government excellent or good, 56% find the values ​​insufficient. Among those who disapprove, 76% have the same opinion.

Among those who approve the Bolsonaro government, 39% say they are satisfied with the amounts received. Among those who disapprove of management, 23% think the same. According to Datafolha, 48% of voters think the government’s performance is bad or terrible, and 25% approve of it.

Approval to the government is lower among the beneficiaries of the social program than among the population as a whole. According to the survey, only 19% of those receiving the aid consider Bolsonaro’s performance to be great or good and 45% disapprove.

Most respondents told Datafolha that receiving the aid does not influence their vote for president. According to the institute, Lula leads the electoral race with 48% of voting intentions and a 21 percentage point advantage over Bolsonaro.

Among the beneficiaries of the social program, 66% said that it does not influence their choice and 31% said that the aid will have some influence. There is no significant difference in this aspect between those who declared themselves voters for Lula and those who support Bolsonaro.

The survey shows that Auxílio Brasil reaches one fifth of the population. According to Datafolha, 21% of voters receive benefits from the program or live with a beneficiary. In March, 23% told the institute that they were among those served by the social program.

The concentration of beneficiaries is higher among respondents with a monthly family income of up to two minimum wages (R$ 2,424), a universe that includes the population defined as the target of the program. In this stratum, 32% live in households benefiting from the aid.

According to the law that created the program, families in a situation classified as extreme poverty, with a monthly family income per capita of up to R$105, or poverty, with earnings of up to R$210 per member of the program, can register to receive payments. family.

In addition to the R$400 minimum, Auxílio Brasil offers complementary benefits to encourage productive inclusion, scientific initiation of students and the practice of sports. In April, 5 million families also received aid to compensate for the rise in gas prices.

The concentration of program beneficiaries is higher in the Northeast than in other regions of the country and in segments of the workforce most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, such as the unemployed, unregistered salaried workers and the self-employed.