Government postpones promise to include families in Brazil Aid and does not plan to pay arrears

The government of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) will not fulfill its promise to increase the number of families assisted by Auxílio Brasil in 2021. There is also no provision for the beneficiaries of the social program to receive retroactive compensation, as was announced.

The plan informed by the government was to start paying at least R$400 to more than 17 million families registered with Auxílio Brasil as of November.

The order came from Bolsonaro in October, which publicly repeated, several times, its promise to boost the replacement social program of Bolsa Família, raise the income transferred to the vulnerable population (from R$190 a month to R$400) and expand the number of families served (from 14.5 million currently to over 17 million).

This promise was even reiterated by minister João Roma (Citizenship) in early December.

Government officials said that, after authorization from Congress to increase spending (through the PEC dos Precatório), it would be possible to carry out a second round of payments in December. Thus, the promise would be fulfilled.

But technicians from the Ministry of Citizenship now say that this will no longer be possible this year, but only on the January payroll.

In other words, the expansion of coverage (number of families served) should only take place next month, despite the fact that the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) of the Precatório was enacted on December 8 and 16 – the PEC was split into two parties– and the government’s intention to expand the program since November.

There is also no longer any forecast that families will receive a supplement retroactive to November that would serve to match the benefit to the amount of R$400 promised by the president.

When contacted, the Ministry of Citizenship informed that “the portfolio’s expectation is to reach around 18 million in the next regular payroll [em janeiro], clearing the waiting list, which demonstrates the federal government’s commitment to guaranteeing and continuously expanding the service provided in social protection actions for the most vulnerable citizens”.

According to government technicians, there was not enough time to operationalize the payment to the remaining families (more than 3 million) in December, as the release of the funds, due to the enactment of the PEC, was delayed.

Regarding the withdrawal of payment of the retroactive amount, the ministry argued that, in the MP (provisional measure) that raises the amount of income transferred by Auxílio Brasil, there is no provision for retroactive payment of this benefit.

On December 2, Rome reinforced the government’s promise to increase the number of families assisted by the end of the year and to pay a retroactive amount for November.

“Still in December, we intend to clear the queue, going from 14.7 million to 17 million beneficiaries [famílias]”, said Roma, in a speech at the Planalto Palace. “The deadlines are tight, they are beyond what we expected, but they will not be an obstacle for us to fulfill our mission,” concluded the minister at the time.

According to the Ministry of Citizenship, Auxílio Brasil paid in December an average benefit of R$ 408.84 to 14.5 million families.

The government, therefore, managed to increase the amount transferred to the beneficiaries, but did not fulfill its promise to serve more families than Bolsa Família nor to pay the amount retroactive to November.

The biggest difference between Auxílio Brasil and Bolsa Família is the government’s intention to increase funding for the program.

With an eye on the 2022 elections, Bolsonaro was advised by allies to allocate more resources to that area. This is one of the government’s main bets in the reelection campaign.

Its popularity rose at the height of emergency aid, but now it continues to decline — even with the increase in the Auxílio Brasil budget, the new program is still far from reaching the coverage of needy families that emergency aid had.

The government’s plan is to allocate a budget of approximately R$89 billion for Brazil Aid in 2022. In recent years, the Bolsa Família budget has been close to R$35 billion.

The Ministry of Citizenship states that, as of January 2022, resources are guaranteed to serve almost 18 million families with a minimum benefit of R$400.