Government releases R$4.1 billion to pay emergency aid to single parents

The federal government released R$4.153 billion to pay an extra batch of emergency aid to single parents who are solely responsible for supporting their underage children. Provisional measure 1,084, published on December 24, responds to the overthrow of President Jair Bolsonaro’s (PL) veto by Congress.

Bolsonaro vetoed the possibility that, like single mothers, male heads of households would receive the benefit amount. According to the law that created emergency aid, in 2020, mothers responsible for supporting the home were entitled to a double share of the benefit. The aid was R$600 and the mothers received R$1,200. The veto was overturned by Congress in June of this year.

In the provisional measure, the president cites constitutional amendment 103, instituted after approval by part of the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) of the Precatório, as one of the justifications for releasing the extra value. The amendment paved the way for extra credit that should make Auxílio Brasil, a substitute for Bolsa Família, viable.

According to the Ministry of Citizenship, there is still no scheduled date for payment. However, with the money, the ministry says it will comply with what is determined by law 14,171, which is to pay double the amount of emergency aid for single-parent families, regardless of the gender of the head of the household.

The query to find out if the values ​​will be able to be done on the emergency aid application or website. It is necessary to inform CPF, full name and mother’s name. If you don’t know, check the “Unknown mother” option. The date of birth must also be informed. To consult, just go to “Send”.

The rules on who is entitled to the benefit vary depending on the laws that created or expanded the aid. In general, you must be unemployed and have an income of up to half a minimum wage per family member or up to three minimum wages for the whole family.

The amounts must be paid in a single installment, retroactively. Single mothers who got the benefit received up to five installments of R$1,200, which gives R$6,000. Afterwards, they may have been entitled to four more installments of R$600, totaling R$2,400.

In 2021, the government released a new quota of emergency aid, but with amounts much lower than those of 2020. The female head of a single parent family received R$375. There were seven installments, totaling R$2,625. On the other hand, single people (single-person family) received assistance of R$ 150 per month. The quota for the other families was R$250.

Benefit was created by Congress in the pandemic

Emergency aid was created by Congress in March 2020 as an income alternative for Bolsa Família beneficiaries, informal individuals enrolled in the CadÚnico and individual INSS taxpayers who had lost income due to the social isolation imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The amounts started to be paid by the federal government in April 2020. Initially, there would be three installments of R$600, which were expanded, totaling five quotas. Afterwards, a provisional measure created the extension aid, in the amount of R$ 600. Four more installments were paid.

This year, the government did not intend to pay the benefit, but, in March, it issued a provisional measure with the continuation of the program, but with a lower amount and aimed at fewer beneficiaries. In 2020, approximately 68 million people received payments. For this year, the total has dropped to around 40 million.

The veto of double aid for single parents was given by Jair Bolsonaro under the justification that there was fraud on the part of separated parents, who received the money in place of the mothers who had custody of the children. At the time, the president stated that he had no way of verifying whether the father was really the only person responsible for the minors.

A bill by Congresswoman Fernanda Melchiona (PSOL-RS), still in 2020, determined the preference of women in receiving the benefit, but also included single parents. After coming and going in Congress this year, the law that was created after the MP already provided for the measure, vetoed again by Bolsonaro. With the overthrow of the veto, he is forced to comply with what was determined.