RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro said Tuesday (28) that Brazil is “rich” and can assist its low-income population “for some more time.” In a speech in the interior of Bahia, after delivering rural title certificates, he said that the difficulties imposed by the pandemic have worsened the social situation, causing inflation and loss of income.
“We have to work, yes, to attend to those who have not yet returned to the labor market. Brazil is big, Brazil is prosperous. We have a rich country and we can serve the most needy for a while longer. And we pray to God that this pandemic will soon be gone and we can all return to normality,” said the president.
Bolsonaro did not nominally mention the Emergency Aid, which has been paid since last year to informal workers and whose extension is under study. On the vest he wore during the ceremony, the president displayed the Auxílio Brasil logo, a program he intends to launch to replace Bolsa Família.
At the ceremony, besides giving rural property title certificates to small farmers, Bolsonaro announced projects to duplicate the BR-116 and BR-101 highways in Teixeira de Freitas (BA). In the afternoon, the presidential delegation will be in Teotônio Vilela (AL), to deliver some affordable housing.