Datafolha: Auxílio Brasil reaches 23% of the population, but beneficiaries criticize value

The main federal government program for transferring income to the poorest, Auxílio Brasil reaches almost a quarter of the population, but most beneficiaries consider the amounts received to be insufficient, according to a survey carried out by Datafolha.

The survey indicates that 23% of Brazilians live in households served by the program, launched in November last year as a replacement for Bolsa Família and the emergency aid created to help vulnerable families during the pandemic, which ceased to be paid in October.

The concentration of beneficiaries is higher among respondents with a monthly family income of up to two minimum wages (R$ 2,424), a universe that includes the population defined as the target of the program, but the research found people who receive Auxílio Brasil​ also in other segments .

In the stratum with the lowest family income, 35% said they received the aid. Among those who declare an income of 2 to 5 minimum wages, 10% say they receive benefits, as well as 3% of those who earn between 5 and 10 minimum wages, which may be an indication of failures in the execution of the program.

Auxílio Brasil pays R$400 per month to around 18 million families. Complementary benefits offered to encourage productive inclusion, scientific initiation of students and the practice of sports allow for greater gains. In March, the average value of benefits paid was R$ 409.80.

According to the criteria established by the law that created the program, families in a situation classified as extreme poverty, with a monthly per capita family income of up to R$105, or poverty, with earnings of up to R$210, can register to receive benefits. per family member.

Datafolha conducted 2,556 interviews in 181 municipalities last week, on Tuesday (22) and Wednesday (23). The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.

The survey shows a greater concentration of program beneficiaries in segments of the workforce that suffered most from the pandemic and the economic crisis. 41% of the unemployed claim to receive the aid, 33% of employees without a formal contract and 29% of the self-employed.

The survey also points to a greater number of beneficiaries of Auxílio Brasil in the Northeast, where 37% of respondents claim to belong to families that are in the program. According to the Ministry of Citizenship, 48% of families who received payments in March live in the region.

Among the beneficiaries of the aid, 68% say that the amounts received are insufficient and only 29% consider them sufficient. Discontent is greater in the lower income strata. In families earning up to two minimum wages, 71% say the benefits are insufficient.

Dissatisfaction with the value is more pronounced among the unemployed (72%), self-employed workers (71%) and housewives (74%), who are away from the labor market. Among unemployed people who are not looking for a job, 84% find the assistance insufficient, according to Datafolha.

Although the emergency aid paid in the pandemic has contributed to sustaining President Jair Bolsonaro’s popularity among the poorest in the health crisis, the same does not seem to happen with Auxílio Brasil, as the government’s assessment is more negative among program beneficiaries.

According to Datafolha, 25% of Brazilians consider the Bolsonaro government to be great or good. Among those who receive Auxílio Brasil, only 19% think so. The government disapproval rate among program beneficiaries, 47%, is equivalent to that found in the total population, 46%.

Auxílio Brasil is part of a set of initiatives that Bolsonaro is counting on to regain his popularity and be reelected in October. The minimum amount of R$ 400 paid by the program is only guaranteed until the end of this year. The legislation provides for a reduction in values ​​from 2023.