Bolsa Família

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bolsa Família logo

The Bolsa Família (pronounced ˈbowsɐ fɐˈmiʎɐ ), officially Portuguese Programa Bolsa Família (PBF), German analogous family allowance program (literally “family wallet ”), is an existing state transfer program in Brazil that benefits poor sections of the population under certain conditions.

history

The origins of the social reform program go back to ex-President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and in some cases even to the late phase of military rule . Under ex-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , the reform Fome Zero ( zero hunger ) was initiated in 2003 . In addition, the Bolsa Família program was first introduced by a presidential decree of October 20, 2003 and replaced by Act No. 10.836 of January 9, 2004, which has since been fully effective.

A beneficiary with the magnetic card

It currently supports around half of the Brazilian population. According to data from the Ministry of Social Development , for 2018 there are around 13.7 million families in all 5570 municipalities in the country. It represents a form of unconditional basic income , which is supposed to save the poorest Brazilians from hunger. Even if the amount with currently (2018) an average of R $ 187.79 (approx. 43 euros) seems quite low, it allows a life above the poverty line defined by the United Nations .

The financial aid is paid out directly via a magnetic card and benefits families in which the income per family member is the equivalent of less than around EUR 46. The program only uses 0.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). The Bolsa Família program also guarantees access to rights such as education (school fees), health (child vaccination) and social assistance, as well as links with other measures aimed at the socio-economic development of the beneficiaries.

Organization and functioning

Bolsa Família office in Feira de Santana , Bahia.

Those interested in receiving it must register in the federal government's uniform register for social programs , the Cadastro Único para Programas Sociais (CadÚnico), either in the social welfare reference centers (Cras) or in the municipal administrations. All civil status and household data are collected, which are then also available to the municipalities, the states and the state. Through a transparency portal on the Internet, the benefits granted to individual families can be accessed by anyone via a database. Payouts can be made using a card with an identification number at the more than 14,000 branches of the Bundessparkasse Caixa Econômica Federal .

Criticism and success

Similar to the Fome Zero program, criticism from the beginning has been that the Bolsa Família does not address the causes of poverty and unemployment. The opposition parties criticized it as catching populist votes. On the other hand, the exemplary nature of this "world's largest program of its kind" for Latin American countries was emphasized. The governments of Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff emphasized the large number of those affected who were helped, and in some cases this paved the way for them to become middle class. You rate the measures as a success. In 2014, shortly before upcoming elections, the Brazilian Federal Audit Office raised allegations of suspected lack of transparency in possible cases of abuse, which the responsible minister, Tereza Campello, contradicted. The economic crisis in Brazil from 2014 onwards made announcements in the second presidency of Dilma Rousseff about budget cuts in the area of ​​social benefits necessary.

Ex-President Michel Temer made changes to the program when he took office in mid-2016, with just over a million people losing their eligibility. According to the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística , the proportion of the extremely poor increased by 11% between 2016 and 2017.

literature

Web links

Commons : Bolsa Família  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung translates it in its publication as a family grant .
  2. ↑ Medida Provisória Nº 132, de 20 de outubro 2003. Cria o Programa Bolsa Família e dá outras providências. In: www.planalto.gov.br. Presidência da República, Casa Civil, accessed August 13, 2018 (Brazilian Portuguese).
  3. ↑ Lei Nº 10.836, de 9 de janeiro de 2004. Cria o Programa Bolsa Família e dá outras providência. In: www.planalto.gov.br. Presidência da República, Casa Civil, accessed August 13, 2018 (Brazilian Portuguese).
  4. ↑ Brazil: Bolsa Família welfare program has legalized vote buying latina-press.com. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  5. ^ Poverty in Brazil: "At the mercy of the mighty". Deutsche Welle, February 22, 2020
  6. ↑ Valor do Bolsa Família tem reajuste de 5.67% e sobe para R $ 187 brasil.gov.br. Retrieved August 12, 2018 (Portuguese).
  7. ↑ 10 years of “Bolsa Família”: Government rates social program as a success brasilienportal.ch. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  8. ↑ 10 years of “Bolsa Família”: Government rates social program as a success brasilienportal.ch. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  9. ↑ Centro de Referência de Assistência Social (Cras) brasil.gov.br. Retrieved August 12, 2018 (Portuguese)
  10. ↑ Início - Portal da transparência. In: www.portaltransparencia.gov.br. Portal da Transparência, Ministério da Transparência e Controladoria-Geral da União , accessed August 13, 2018 (Brazilian Portuguese).
  11. ↑ Claire Gatinois: Brésil: le nouveau président Michel Temer, Machiavel ou sauveur? In: Le Monde . September 1, 2016 (French, lemonde.fr [accessed August 13, 2018]).
  12. ↑ A un año del golpe, ninguna medida de Temer generó crecimiento. In: TeleSUR. May 11, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2018 (Brazilian Portuguese).
  13. ^ Júlia Dolce: Pobreza extrema aumenta 11% no último ano; economistas culpam trabalho informal. In: Brasil de Fato. April 12, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2018 (Brazilian Portuguese).