Families registered in income transfer programs, such as Auxílio Brasil, have been dealing with uncertainties about the exact amount that will be transferred to the account in the following month.
The fluctuations during the pandemic were felt mainly by female heads of households. Those who received a monthly benefit of BRL 200 through Bolsa Família, for example, started to receive BRL 1,200 with emergency aid for four months last year, but the value dropped to an average of BRL 375 this year.
Emergency aid was paid until October.
In November of this year, the mothers responsible for providing for the home returned to relying only on the amount they received from Bolsa Família, a program replaced by Auxílio Brasil. With the announcement of payment in the minimum amount of R$400, they were waiting to receive the benefit with the new floor before December ends.
The rise and fall of values brought opportunities and constraints. With more money in your pocket, it was possible to settle debts, improve the family’s diet and even buy basic furniture, such as beds for the children, but without being sure how much will fall into the account, insecurity and anxiety prevail.
“Last month I was scared when I went to withdraw the benefit. I had only R$60 available. In the bank line I talked to women who held electricity and water bills in their hands. They returned home unable to pay, as they practically received the same as me. It’s embarrassing not to be able to honor their commitments”, says Joelma Costa Dias, 48 years old.
The resident of Jardim Ângela (Southern São Paulo) received R$135 from Bolsa Família before receiving emergency aid. For four months in 2020, it had BRL 1,200, then BRL 375 until October and, in November, BRL 60.
“I should receive the R$ 400 at the end of this month, but it is sad to think that the government gives something with a date to end and with interests.”
Joelma says he was cleaning, but with the pandemic he couldn’t find any more work. “People were afraid to open their homes because of the virus.”
Currently, she lives with social benefits, food donations and does odd jobs as a hairdresser. During the period in which she received R$1,200, she says that it was possible to undergo basic dental treatment for her and her son, Paulo Bryan, 13.
“We felt a lot of toothache, but we couldn’t be treated at the health center.”
The beneficiary also bought products to work as a hairdresser, in addition to pants (R$80) and sneakers (R$144) for her son, and paid water, electricity and gas bills. “I bought fruit, powdered milk, things my son likes, but I can’t always buy them.”
She complains about the value of the items in the supermarket. “The government gives a higher value, but in practice we can’t buy almost anything.”
According to the Ministry of Citizenship, the average benefit paid to 14.5 million families across the country rose from R$ 186.68 in October to R$ 224.41 in November.
Unemployed for two years, Fátima Garcia Leal, 44, has three children aged 7, 12 and 18, and says she also cleaned houses and took care of the elderly, but has not managed anything since the beginning of the pandemic.
The resident of São Mateus (east zone of São Paulo) received R$ 200 from Bolsa Família before the emergency aid. Fátima says she was surprised by the amount that went into the account referring to last month’s benefit: R$ 195.
“In the months when we received the R$ 1,200 I was able to buy meat, do a fair, as fruits and vegetables are very expensive, I am not always able to buy them”, he says.
The housewife claims that she also paid overdue consumer bills. “I don’t even bake a cake anymore to save gas. I live in a house provided by my mother, as I can’t afford the rent.”
On the last 10th, the date when the government started to pay the Auxílio Brasil in December, Fátima’s priority was to verify if the R$ 400 of Auxílio Brasil were already available. “The money dropped today, thank God. I needed it.”
A mother of three children aged 5, 7 and 10, housewife Debora Eloi, 30, from Jardim Vila Carrão (also on the east side), says she was a caregiver for the elderly, but since March she has been out of work. She lives in a house in her parents’ backyard and claims that the family’s only income is the benefit.
“We live with donations and the support of parents”, he says.
Debora says that the value of Bolsa Família, before the emergency aid, was R$ 241. She received R$ 1,200 for four months and, afterwards, R$ 372. The R$ 1,200 made a lot of difference for her.
“I managed to make a pantry to last 15 days, something that is not normally possible. I bought cookies, chocolate and other sweets for the children and, importantly, I separated the water and electricity clock. This way, I can pay my parents’ separate bills. “
With the benefit reduced, she felt the impact in her pocket. “You can pay for water and electricity, there’s R$50 left, R$60 to buy beans, rice. I go to the supermarket and go straight to the shelf, I don’t even look to the side. The prices of things have gone up too much.”
São Paulo is the second state in number of beneficiaries of the former Bolsa Família, now Auxílio Brasil – more than 1.6 million families, according to the Ministry of Citizenship. The first state is Bahia, with more than 1.8 million registered families.
Sueli Cristina da Silva Lima, 46, lives in Vila Ester (eastern part of São Paulo). She is a housewife and has five children aged 8, 10, 15, 21 and 23 years old. Selling beauty products in catalogs is a way to earn extra income.
Before the emergency aid, he received R$ 160 from Bolsa Família, he received R$ 1,200 and now R$ 212. “We live balancing the accounts.”
With the extra money he bought a six pack and two single beds for the younger children, and he claims they ate a little better. “Frying potatoes, yogurt, a different dessert. As the family is big, you can’t do that every day.”
She claims that she still managed to save R$2,000. “It’s what I’m using to buy some things and pay the electricity and water bills.”
Sueli expects the R$ 400 of Auxílio Brasil to continue being paid in 2022.
Northeast is the region with the largest number of beneficiaries
With 7.1 million families covered by the income transfer program, the Northeast concentrates almost half of the beneficiaries.
A resident of Vitória de Santo Antão, in Pernambuco (state that ranks third in the number of beneficiaries of Auxílio Brasil, or 1.182 million people), Adriana Oliveira, 40, is the mother of two children aged 13 and 23. She reports that she received R$ 200. Then the benefit went to R$ 1,200, then R$ 375 and, in November, R$ 208.
“I pay R$350 in rent. When I received the R$1,200, I managed to pay four times the down payment of R$2,000 for a piece of land to build my house, in addition to buying two single beds for my children,” he says.
Adriana is divided between caring for her elderly mother, selling beauty products through catalogs and studying to finish high school. She says she has the benefit to help pay for water and electricity bills. “I expected the higher amount to be paid by the end of the pandemic.”
Mother of eight children says she does not receive the benefit
Érika Fabiana Gomes de Araújo, 37, from Jardim Ângela (Southern São Paulo), is a mother of eight children aged 1, 3, 6, 10,11,13, 15 and 21 years old and reports that for at least three years , does not receive the Bolsa Família.
“I updated the registration, but they only say that it is under analysis. I received emergency aid of R$600 and R$250 until October. We live on donations. When we know they are donating food baskets, we run away.”
Regarding Érika Fabiana Santana Gomes de Araújo’s complaint, the Ministry of Citizenship informs that she was a Bolsa Família beneficiary between October 2014 and July 2017, but data crossings with official federal government databases showed that her family had monthly income per higher than the value established by law.
In August 2019, she had her registration in the Cadastro Único canceled due to inconsistency of information and, later, lack of updating.
Still in 2019, says the note, Érika made a new registration and, in 2020, she became eligible for emergency assistance. She received five installments of R$600 each. After extending the benefit, it received four more installments worth R$300 each. In 2021, he was entitled to seven more installments, in the amount of R$250 each.
If the family meets the eligibility criteria of Auxílio Brasil, a new permanent social program of the federal government, it will automatically enter the payroll, as long as it keeps its record up to date.
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