Caixa moves BRL 48 billion in social benefits and credit for women during the electoral period

The main agent of public policies of the federal government, Caixa Econômica Federal will generate around R$ 48 billion in the electoral period with the payment of social benefits for the low-income population and the release of credit for women.

The bank promoted a series of events and announcements about the initiatives after the first round, with the potential to boost the popularity of the current Chief Executive in the final stretch of the election.

According to experts, Caixa’s actions come up against the fine line of the electoral law – which establishes conduct that is prohibited for public agents during the campaign to ensure equal opportunities for candidates.

In a note, the bank highlighted that the “conducting of interviews or reports related to marketing activities does not offend the electoral legislation, which, in addition to being expressly provided for and authorized by current regulations, is considered as a point of agreement in national doctrine and jurisprudence”.

The most recent action disclosed by the bank was the launch of Caixa Pra Elas Empreendedoras, on October 17 (already during the electoral campaign, which began two months earlier). The bank expects to grant, until November 19, R$ 1 billion in credit to individual entrepreneurs who formalize themselves as MEI (individual microentrepreneurs).

The campaign is part of a series of initiatives aimed at women announced by President Daniella Marques since her inauguration in early July.

Right arm of Minister Paulo Guedes (Economy), Marques took charge of the bank with the mission of repairing the damage to the institution’s image caused by the departure of Pedro Guimarães – who resigned on charges of sexual harassment against bank employees.

At the same time, Bolsonaro’s campaign sees the female audience as a priority – as the candidate faces greater rejection in this part of the electorate.

The main program for women is Caixa Pra Elas, launched on August 9 (on the eve of the beginning of the electoral campaign, on the 16th of the same month). So far, he has distributed R$ 1.7 billion through the Pronampe (National Support Program for Micro and Small Businesses) and Fampe (Aval Fund for Micro and Small Businesses) programs – lines of credit that already existed before the election period. .

On October 11, Caixa started to offer payroll-deductible loans to beneficiaries of Auxílio Brasil and BPC (Benefício de Prestação Continuada) for the lower income groups. From the beginning of the operation until the 21st, the bank released R$ 4.29 billion in this type of credit, according to sources who had access to the most recent data.

Officially, Caixa maintains as partial the amount of R$ 1.8 billion granted to 700 thousand people in three business days in the first week of operation. According to the bank, “it is not common for the bank to make periodic balance sheets, especially daily, on the products it makes available to the public.”

The volume of concessions provoked a reaction from the control bodies. Minister Augusto Cedraz, from the TCU (Union Court of Auditors), asked Caixa for an explanation about the offer of consigned credit, in response to the representation of deputy attorney Lucas Furtado, from the Public Ministry of Accounts, who asked for the suspension of the loan.

“The accelerated pace with which Caixa Econômica Federal has been releasing the credit – having reached the astonishing amount of R$ 1.8 billion in just three days – raises doubts about the purposes pursued through this activity, as well as about whether procedures are being respected. intended to safeguard the bank’s interests and, consequently, the public interest”, says the document signed by Furtado.

The release of payroll loans is used as a trump card in Bolsonaro’s re-election campaign. In recent weeks, the president has expanded the use of the public machine in his favor and launched a series of measures aimed at low-income people.

Among them is the anticipation of the Auxílio Brasil calendar. With the change, the October payment, via Caixa, ended on the 25th — before the second round. The original calendar called for payments until October 31, the day after the vote.

The implementation of part of these measures on the eve of the election period was only possible with the approval of a PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) approved by Congress in July. The package includes Auxílio Brasil turbocharged R$600, double gas vouchers and the creation of benefits for truck drivers and taxi drivers. The consigned credit of Auxílio Brasil, in turn, is not part of the amendment’s “goodness” package.

Responsible for the payment of Auxílio Brasil, Caixa transferred R$ 37.37 billion from August to October to the beneficiaries. Before the second round, over 500,000 families were included in the program and the bank contracted to manufacture more than 6 million Auxílio Brasil cards.

In Bolsonaro’s campaign, this measure was seen as essential for the public to decouple payments from the brand from the old Bolsa Família (created under Lula’s government).

As for aid for truck drivers and taxi drivers, four installments have been paid so far, totaling R$1.48 billion and R$1.23 billion, respectively. Payments for the October to December rounds were advanced. In the gas voucher, the amount is R$ 1.29 billion referring to August and October.

During the election period, the bank also launched Você no Azul, an annual campaign to renegotiate overdue debts with up to 90% discount. The announcement was anticipated by Bolsonaro in a campaign act at Palácio da Alvorada. “Caixa Econômica looks like it’s even a ministry, because it does so much for the population as a whole”, declared the president on the day.

Marques says he has “technical autonomy to exercise the presidency of the bank” and denies that Caixa acts with an electoral bias. In public appearances, the president of Caixa defends that customers can use the Auxílio Brasil payroll and other credit lines with lower interest rates to exchange more expensive debts or to undertake.

On the day of the launch of the Auxílio Brasil consignment, Caixa’s vice president of corporate management, Danielle Calazans, stated that the announcement before the second round “was not a matter of electoral background” and that Caixa is the operator of the policies of the federal government.

Use of the bank can configure ‘abuse of economic power intertwined with politics’, says lawyer

According to Alexandre Nogueira, a member of Abradep (Brazilian Association of Electoral and Political Law), the placement of institutional propaganda paid for by a certain public entity during the electoral period is one of the prohibited conducts provided for in article 73 of the Elections Law (Law 9,504/97).

Caixa, as a public bank, is subject to this legislation. In case of action, the individual conduct of the responsible managers would be analyzed.

“When the prohibited conduct takes place, it configures an act of administrative improbity that can generate another action in the administrative sphere, in the civil sphere, not in the electoral sphere”, he said. “If convicted of administrative impropriety, he can have his political rights suspended for five years and ineligibility for eight years.”

The difficulty of judicialization, according to Nogueira, is due to the fact that it is necessary to have robust proof of what is being alleged, in addition to the political interest of the demand.

For lawyer Laís Rosa Bertagnoli Loduca, a specialist in electoral law and also a member of Abradep, the use of Caixa in favor of the president during the electoral period can constitute “abuse of economic power intertwined with politics”.

“The main issue is the link between the government’s image and the use of programs in the campaign,” he said. “One of the requirements for abuse actions to be upheld is the severity of the conduct, which is the severity to affect the outcome of the lawsuit.”

According to the expert, the problem usually resides in this demonstration. “The lack of evidence of the seriousness of the conduct was what led, for example, to the dismissal of the electoral investigation actions against Bolsonaro judged by the TSE last October. [2021]”, said.

The action that investigates abuse of political power can be carried out up to the date of the diplomacy –an act by which the Electoral Justice certifies that the candidate was effectively elected by the people–, which usually takes place in mid-December.

If upheld, it will result in a fine, cancellation of the mandate, if elected, and a penalty of ineligibility for eight years.

A lawyer who requested anonymity says he sees a possible abuse of power of authority in the final stretch of the elections due to the “set of work”, with all the measures announced by Bolsonaro recently.

OTHER SIDE

In a statement, Caixa said that it “adopts, in the dissemination of its marketing actions, concepts that support the good practices of public communication, with a focus on fulfilling the bank’s corporate strategy of strengthening customer orientation and reinforcing the quality of service”.

“The disclosures made also comply with a standardized institutional model, with recurrent communication actions aimed at presenting to Brazilian society and the national market the information it considers relevant in the development of its own activities”, he continued.

The institution also stated that, “since the beginning of the electoral period, in July, until September 2022, the bank released 140 informative texts to the press, which address topics of public and market interest such as lottery draws, payment schedules for social benefits, credit lines, Caixa service channels, among other matters related to banking activity. Comparatively, from July to September 2021, 196 of these texts were sent, with no increase in bank advertising”.