‘Permanent Brazil Aid’: R$ 400 benefit is approved by the House of Representatives

After passing possible suggestions and amendments, the text must be sent to the Senate (Antônio Augusto/Câmara dos Deputados)

April 28, 2022

09:04

Priscilla Peixoto – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – The rapporteur of the Provisional Measure No. 1076, federal lawmaker João Roma (PL-BA), accepted in the early evening of Wednesday, 27, the proposal that makes permanent the payment of the amount of R$ 400 of Brazil Allowance (formerly Bolsa Família). In the original proposal, edited even by president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), the payment of the benefit would end in December of this year.

The initiative to present a plenary amendment to make the payment of the aid beyond 2022 is from lawmaker Hugo Motta (Republicans-PB) and was approved in the House of Representatives by 418 votes to 7. After passing possible suggestions and amendments, the text must go to the Senate for analysis.

“We accept the amendment because we believe that this provision will be a milestone in the improvement of the policy to fight poverty and the development of basic income for citizenship,” said the rapporteur João Roma.

Amendments

To replace the then Bolsa Família, the federal government created in August 2021, the so-called Auxílio Brasil (Brazil Allowance), which paid the average amount of R$224.00, an amount that would be paid to the beneficiaries again in 2023 after the period of the supplementary amount instituted as an “extraordinary benefit”.

João Roma also highlighted legal loopholes and limitations to accept the proposal “observance of legal limitations on the creation, expansion or improvement of government action that leads to increased spending in that year,” said the rapporteur also stating that it is not possible to pay a value above R$ 400.00.

Although members of the opposition have tried an increase to the average amount of R$ 600.00 Rome claims that there are no resources and a possible increase would be vetoed by President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), resulting in 16 million families affected. According to the amendment, the total sum of the benefits of Auxílio Brasil will represent an average of R$ 88 billion per year.