President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) said this Tuesday (2) that it will be necessary to approve a new PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) for Auxílio Brasil to pay an amount of R$ 600 in 2023.
The Chief Executive said that he intends that this be the value of the benefit at this level next year. For this to happen, however, the president said that Congressional approval will be required.
The Chief Executive did not explain what the content of the PEC would be. Government members, however, have said that it is possible to fit the amount of R$ 600 within the spending ceiling if there is a review of expenses (especially mandatory ones).
Since the beginning of the government, Minister Paulo Guedes (Economy) has defended constitutional changes that allow for the reduction of mandatory expenses. The plan, which he called “3Ds”, would be to de-index, unlink and release the Budget.
In all, three PECs on the subject were sent by the government to Congress in November 2019, but they were dehydrated during processing. Now, the minister has signaled that he wants the proposal up for debate again.
In an interview with SBT this Tuesday, Bolsonaro said that he has already spoken with Guedes and that the idea is to keep Auxílio Brasil at R$600.
“You need a PEC because there is legislation. Any president who is elected will depend on Parliament for the R$ 600”, he said.
The president also said that he agreed with Guedes that, in the proposed Annual Budget Law, there will be an “indicative to maintain the R$ 600”.
The increase in Auxílio Brasil from R$400 to R$600 this year was only possible thanks to the approval of a PEC that tramples on laws that deal with elections and public accounts.
The government decided to boost social benefits amid the race for the Palácio do Planalto, which has the potential to boost the popularity of Bolsonaro, who is behind former president Lula in the polls.
Under the current rules, the value of Auxílio Brasil will be back to R$ 400 as of January 2023.
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