Deputies press for Auxílio Brasil higher than the government’s forecast, and vote is postponed again

​The changes to the Auxílio Brasil under discussion by Congress should pressure the budget for the social program, even if the government manages to guarantee a budget of nearly R$86 billion for next year.

Auxílio Brasil, which replaces Bolsa Família, was created by MP (provisional measure) issued in August and needs to be approved by Congress by December 7th. The Chamber again postponed the vote on the text this Wednesday (24) after a dispute between the government and the rapporteur of the proposal, deputy Marcelo Aro (PP-MG).

Aro presented House leaders with a version that would alter points of the social program with the imprint of President Jair Bolsonaro.

as showed the sheet in September, one of the proposals is to provide for an automatic correction of the amount of income transferred monthly to the poorest population in the country. The readjustment would be by the INPC (inflation index focusing on the lower classes).

Due to pressure from the economic team, the majority of the Chamber did not support this item. The team of minister Paulo Guedes (Economy) is against measures that impose an automatic increase in expenses.

Party leaders allied with the Planalto Palace heeded the government’s request and signaled to Aro that the automatic readjustment of the benefit paid by Auxílio Brasil was met with strong resistance in the Chamber. Given this scenario, the rapporteur informed that he will back down.

However, the government’s allied base wants to approve other changes in Auxílio Brasil suggested by Aro.

One of them is to prevent there being a waiting list to join the cash transfer program.

Today, by law, the government is not required to serve all families that are within the poverty and extreme poverty range.

The queue, which currently has around 1.2 million registrations, is formed because the Bolsa Família budget has become smaller than necessary to serve everyone who had their registration analyzed by the government.

The Auxílio Brasil budget for 2022 considers that 17 million families will be served — coverage today is 14.7 million.

However, in addition to the queue that has already formed, there has been an increase in the number of families that have registered in the poverty and extreme poverty range through the Cadastro Único (system for social programs), as reported by government technicians to sheet in October before the end of emergency aid.

Another change in the social program that is being debated in the Chamber raises the ranges of poverty and extreme poverty (criteria for a family’s entry into the social program). This also makes room for more people to take part in the cash transfer.

In early November, the government updated these criteria. Today, to enter the Bolsa Família, the Cadastro Único considers people with a monthly income of R$100 per family member to be in extreme poverty.

Income between R$ 100.01 and R$ 200 is classified as a situation of poverty.

The rapporteur wants to raise these ranges to R$ 105 per family member (extreme poverty) and R$ 210 (poverty).

According to Congress technicians, the elevation of the bands as a criterion for accessing the program and the determination that there can be no waiting list will expand the Auxílio Brasil, putting pressure on the amount that will be set aside for cash transfers as early as 2022.

The report was made official this Wednesday night. Aro also removed the part that allowed beneficiaries of the social program to contract payroll-deductible loans. The proposal was from the Ministry of Citizenship and provided for up to 30% of the income to be committed. This measure was overturned by the rapporteur after pressure from the opposition.

The government is trying to conclude the MP’s vote in the Chamber this week.

The proposal needs the approval of both Houses of Congress by December 7th. Otherwise, the creation of Auxílio Brasil will expire.

The rapporteur tried during this Wednesday (24) to get support for the device that would automatically readjust the benefit of the social program. But the government worked against the idea.

“In the ideal text, I would like this indexing [reajuste automático], because inflation is felt most by the most vulnerable layers. But for that, I need to have a majority of the votes,” said Aro.

The deputy also proposed that more beneficiaries of the program are entitled to a bonus in case they increase their family income. The Ministry of Citizenship wants to pay, for up to two years, this extra amount for beneficiaries who get formal employment (with a formal contract). According to the government, it is a way to encourage families to no longer depend on income from the social program.

According to Aro’s version, the bonus must be paid even to beneficiaries who act as individual microentrepreneurs (MEI) and self-employed workers.

However, the rapporteur’s idea is that this extra amount is paid in National Treasury bonds. The accumulated amount could be redeemed after leaving the social program, losing a job or closing the microenterprise.

In addition to approving the MP that creates Auxílio Brasil, the government needs the approval of Congress to increase the spending margin in the Budget and, therefore, fulfill Bolsonaro’s promise to raise the average benefit of the program from the current level of R$ 220 per month for at least R$400.

The expansion of the spending margin will take place through the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) of the Precatório, which is under analysis by the Senate. With this PEC, it will be possible to expand the program’s budget to around R$ 86 billion next year, when Bolsonaro intends to run for re-election.

The bases of Auxílio Brasil follow the Bolsa Família format. Anyone who is already in the program created in the PT management will be automatically transferred to Bolsonaro’s version.

Bolsonaro’s program changes the way in which each family’s benefit is calculated. Altogether, there will be nine types of benefits that, in the end, will be gathered in the amount to be received.

However, the main difference between Auxílio Brasil and Bolsa Família is the government’s intention to increase funding for the program.

With an eye on the 2022 elections, Bolsonaro was advised by allies to allocate more resources to that area.

Its popularity rose at the height of emergency aid, but now it continues to decline — even with the increase in the Auxílio Brasil budget, the new program is still far from reaching the coverage of needy families that emergency aid had.