Government acts to maintain Auxílio Brasil at R$ 400 and avoid violation of electoral law

Government members and allies in Congress are working to stop the opposition’s attempt to raise the minimum amount of Auxílio Brasil, currently at R$400, thanks to a temporary additional benefit created by the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government to get through the election year.

The justification of government allies is that any R$ 1 more in value would make it impossible for the president to sanction the law. Otherwise, his candidacy for the Plateau would be at risk, since the electoral law prohibits the expansion of this type of benefit in the year of the election.

A possible veto of the law, to avoid legal conflict, would end up returning the families to the previous reality, with an average payment of around R$ 224.41. In practice, it would mean a cut in the benefit of the most vulnerable population at a time when the rise in food prices is already putting pressure on the pockets of these families.

Faced with the risk, the government launched a strategy to try to convince deputies in favor of the increase that the pressure could end up having the opposite effect, reducing the benefit of families. If the onslaught is not effective, Bolsonaro’s allies defend exposing the name of the deputies who supported the change, blaming them for the eventual reduction.

Auxílio Brasil was created to be the social brand of the Bolsonaro government, succeeding Bolsa Família, associated with PT administrations. On different occasions, the president promised the payment of a minimum benefit of R$ 400 and the end of the program’s waiting list, which reached more than 1 million families.

The problem is that the government was only able to permanently guarantee a part of the promised increase – which brought the average benefit to R$ 224.41 in November last year. With no source of funding for the remaining installment, the solution was to create a temporary benefit to reach R$400.

An MP (provisional measure) was issued in December 2021, precisely to avoid running into the prohibitions of the electoral law, establishing the minimum payment of R$ 400 until December 2022. To continue to be valid, however, the text needs to be approved in the Chamber and in the Senate until May 16.

Despite the tight deadline, the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), only made official the MP’s rapporteur this Tuesday (26). The chosen one was the now deputy João Roma (PL-BA), former Minister of Citizenship of Bolsonaro and pre-candidate for the government of Bahia.

“There is a legal impediment [ao aumento do valor]”, said Rome to Sheet. “It is not a matter of prioritizing resources. The decision is neither economic nor financial. It is legal,” he added.

The former minister has warned of the legal impossibility of expanding benefits in an election year. This was one of the reasons for the government to run out of time to implement the additional installment, guaranteeing the minimum of R$ 400, still in December 2021.

In the economic team, in addition to the legal risk, a source also claims that there is no room in the Budget to fund an increase in the value. The program currently benefits around 17.8 million families. Therefore, each real increase would have an impact of R$ 142 million, considering the remaining eight months in the year.

Without any change, the government has already had to make cuts in other expenses to accommodate the growth of mandatory spending without bursting the ceiling, a fiscal anchor that limits the advance of expenses to the variation of inflation.

In an interview this Tuesday afternoon, Lira defended the maintenance of the minimum benefit at R$ 400 and said that the amount “is sufficient” and is “responsible”.

“It is quite different from what the Bolsa Família was. We had an average value of R$70, a minimum of R$80, and a maximum value of R$175 to R$180,” he said.

“Brazilian Income [Auxílio Brasil] comes with R$ 406 for floor and R$ 852 for ceiling. So I think it’s already a very big effort by the government. In addition to that, the queues are zero, and there is still demand to enter the program “, he said.

Lira stated that the new value of the benefit injects about R$ 9 billion a month directly into the economy. “It may be insufficient, but it is much superior to what existed and the Chamber has to discuss this matter with great responsibility.”

The opposition, however, argues that it is necessary to increase the value. “We will present amendment and highlight [para votação em separado]. For us, from the PSOL, it is important that it is at least the minimum of what we achieved in emergency aid, when we defeated Bolsonaro, who wanted only R$200, and we got R$600, and the double aid to benefit families”, he said. the deputy Fernanda Melchionna (PSOL-RS).