Aid Brazil breaks record for families, but the waiting list reaches almost half of the municipalities

Launched on the eve of the election year, the Auxílio Brasil program gave the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) a record 18 million families benefited, but even so, the waiting list has increased at a rapid pace since March.

Currently, about half of the municipalities in the country have registered families that, despite being in poverty or extreme poverty, are not on the income transfer list due to lack of money in the program.

According to data from the Ministry of Citizenship obtained by the Sheet, the government recognizes that there is a waiting list in 2,525 cities – the country has approximately 5,500 municipalities. There are more than 764,000 families who have already had their registration approved by the ministry, but who need to wait for an eventual increase in the Auxílio Brasil budget or the departure of a beneficiary in order to receive the payment. The value, on average, exceeds R$ 400 per month.

This means that the demand for social assistance – in a period of unemployment and inflation – has been greater than the capacity of the program. Sought, the Ministry of Citizenship did not comment on the matter.

With an eye on the reelection campaign, Bolsonaro changed his stance on the social program throughout the government.

In 2019, the government blocked the entry of families due to lack of money. The Bolsa Família program suffered the biggest drop in history, falling from 14 million to 13 million families. The waiting list surpassed 1.5 million entries.

It was only in the face of the coronavirus pandemic that Bolsonaro ordered the release of funds for the poorest. And, in a few weeks, he created the Emergency Aid – despite its temporary nature, the transfer of income increased the president’s popularity.

It was then that the Palácio do Planalto began to strive for a replacement for Bolsa Família, giving Bolsonaro a mark in the social area on the eve of the election year. The first payment in the amount of R$ 400 was in December.

Datafolha research released this Thursday (26) showed that the replacement of the social program has not yet brought electoral dividends to Bolsonaro. Among those who reported receiving the Auxílio Brasil benefit, the president reached 20% of voting intentions, while former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) reached 59% of that public.

Despite the name change and some changes in the program’s criteria, Auxílio Brasil follows the same bases as Bolsa Família.

Government technicians claim that progress has been made in this change of benefit categories that make up the final amount, which is now more linked to family composition.

However, the main difference between Auxílio Brasil and Bolsa Família was the government’s intention to increase funding for the program. This represented a sharp increase in coverage, which jumped from 13 million households at the beginning of the pandemic to 18.1 million in 2022.

In addition, the average benefit amount increased from approximately R$227 – adjusted for inflation – to R$409.51.

Despite the record level of transferred income, experts say that the model adopted in Auxílio Brasil could be more efficient. In Bolsonaro’s program, the minimum amount is R$400, which does not depend on the size of the family.

“Bolsa Família emerged as a program more focused on children, including requirements to monitor school performance. This has changed over time, but now [no Auxílio Brasil] the benefit is not differentiated by the size of the family”, says economist Marcelo Neri, director of FGV Social.

Today, to enter Auxílio Brasil, the Single Registry (which brings together the public of social programs) considers people with a monthly income of R$ 105 per family member to be in extreme poverty. Income between BRL 105.01 and BRL 210 is classified as being in poverty – and also meets the criteria for receiving the income transfer.

In a recent study, the CNM (National Confederation of Municipalities) reported that there are 1.3 million families waiting for Auxílio Brasil. This data is different from the official number of the Ministry of Citizenship because the CNM considers the requests of those who are in the Single Registry and fit the program’s criteria.

In the case of the government’s official waiting list, the families’ records have already been verified and, therefore, are effectively approved to enter the program – when there is space for them to receive the cash transfer. This documentation check has not yet been carried out in the phase presented by the CNM.

According to government data, the queue was only zeroed in January and February. In March, 100,000 families had their registration approved, but were unable to enter the program. That number rose to 400,000 families in April and, in May, jumped to 764,000 families.

For Carlos Alberto Ramos, professor in the Department of Economics at UnB (University of Brasília), the ideal would be for the queue to be zero, but, due to budgetary difficulties and high demand for assistance, this scenario is removed.

“The interesting thing would be that every public below the poverty line was covered. Apart from technical details, the two programs [Bolsa Família e Auxílio Brasil] they are income transfer programs focused on the most needy. The best thing would be to see these programs as a state policy, but there is a lot of electoral appeal”, says Ramos.

Auxílio Brasil changed the way of calculating the benefit of each family – compared to the PT digital program, which had four (basic benefit; variable benefits; variable benefit linked to adolescents and benefit to overcome extreme poverty).

Bolsonaro’s version has a total of nine types of benefits. They are: early childhood benefit; family composition benefit; benefit of overcoming extreme poverty; school sport aid; junior scientific initiation scholarship; child citizen aid; rural productive inclusion aid; urban productive inclusion aid; transitional compensatory benefit.

But, at the end of the day, the value does not vary much in relation to the minimum level of R$ 400 established by the government.

“There was a Christmas tree with nine types of benefits. In a large, unequal and complex country like Brazil, it is difficult to put an athlete scholarship into practice. And part of the program cannot be operative because of the rule [do piso] of R$ 400”, says Neri.

Former President Lula’s team, who is leading the presidential race, is already considering proposing changes to the social program and resuming the name Bolsa Família, associated with PT administrations.

Main differences between Bolsa Família and Auxílio Brasil

• Average benefit amount

Family Grant: BRL 227*
Brazil Assistance: BRL 409.51
*Value corrected for inflation

• Number of families served

Bolsa Família: 14.7 million
Aid Brazil: 18.1 million

• Access criterion (extreme poverty and poverty line)

Bolsa Família: R$89 per family member (extreme poverty) and R$178 (poverty)
Aid Brazil: BRL 105 (extreme poverty) and BRL 210 (poverty)

How the queue is formed:

The families are on the Cadastro Único list (which gathers public potential for social programs) and have already had their documentation endorsed by the Ministry of Citizenship.

In other words, the government has already recognized that they meet the criteria to be in the social program.

But, due to lack of money, these families have to wait in line to then receive the income transfer.

Source: Ministry of Citizenship