The Attorney General of the Republic, Augusto Aras, gave his opinion to the STF (Federal Supreme Court) for the overthrow of parts of the law that authorized the payroll loan to BPC (Continued Provision Benefit) and to beneficiaries of programs such as Auxílio Brasil.
In the evaluation of the head of the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office, the norm allows groups of high economic vulnerability to compromise a significant percentage of the monthly income, which violates the Constitution, according to a statement released this Tuesday (15) by the agency.
Caixa Econômica Federal began offering the new loan on October 11, less than three weeks before the second round of elections. The release of hiring was used as an asset in President Jair Bolsonaro’s (PL) re-election campaign.
On the 24th, due to possible irregularities in the concession, the credit line was suspended on the recommendation of the TCU (Union Court of Auditors), and remained blocked after the election, for processing the benefit payroll. Caixa released it again on Monday (14).
Consignment is a credit deducted directly from the social benefit. With this, every month, the debtor receives a smaller amount of the aid, until the obligation is settled.
The controversy is discussed at the Supreme Court in an ADI (Direct Action of Unconstitutionality) filed by the PDT. The process is being reported by Minister Nunes Marques, one of the two appointed to the court by the representative. The opinion of the PGR in the records is one of the stages of preparation for the trial.
The PDT claimed that the law offers potential harm to the less favored population, including the elderly, people with disabilities and families in extreme poverty.
The head of the Federal Public Ministry agrees with the arguments. He stated that the questioned device paved the way for the over-indebtedness of families, configuring a violation of the constitutional principles of human dignity and consumer protection.
“What the contested law did, by increasing the limits for (or making it possible) to take out loans with payment deducted from the payroll by the INSS or the Union (consigned credit), was to remove a layer of protection for the rights of the underprivileged population,” he said. .
This portion of the Brazilian population, according to the attorney general, will be even more vulnerable to creditor financial institutions in the scenario of serious economic and social crises, caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
Aras recalled that consumer protection is a principle of economic order, provided for in the Federal Constitution, which allows the State to intervene in order to protect groups of citizens in situations of economic disadvantage.
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