5.5 Million Casual Workers in Brazil at Risk of Losing Emergency Aid

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – When the couple Viviane Santos, 26, and Adriano da Silva, 39, learned about the R$600 (US$120) emergency aid for casual and low-income freelancers due to the coronavirus pandemic, they felt relieved. “But when we looked at the bureaucracy to secure the aid, it was as if the end of the tunnel was farther away,” says Viviane.

“Work since the pandemic has been reduced to zero,” says Adriano, a bricklayer. With no fixed job and living in a suburban housing in São Paulo, they never relied on government for the basics: water, electricity, or sanitation. Access to the internet, which Viviane would use to book cleaning jobs, is also scarce. “It’s as if we are invisible”, they summarize.

There is an almost unanimous belief among economists that the R$600 benefit for the unemployed, self-employed and casual low-income workers, is crucial to prevent the collapse of millions of families, who were left with no income during social isolation. But getting the resource to those who were not part of programs like Bolsa Família (Family Grant) or enrolled in the Single Registry (a government instrument that identifies low-income families) is more difficult than it may seem.

The first challenge was to enroll 11 million people who were not included in the government’s Single Registry, yet are entitled to the benefit, according to estimates by the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA). The second is to provide payment. For those who do not hold a bank account, the Caixa Econômica Federal (Federal Savings Bank) has pledged to set up 30 million digital savings accounts, processed through apps.

But more than 5.5 million Brazilians with incomes of up to half a minimum wage, eligible to claim the benefit, do not have a bank account or regular access to the Internet, shows a research study conducted by the Locomotiva Institute. These are the groups at greatest risk of failing to receive the benefit.

“The coronavirus crisis took away income and plunged many people who had little into poverty, but were not the target of social programs. The virus sheds light on issues that already existed, such as the low income of casual workers, and exacerbates a historical inequality,” says Renato Meirelles, president of the Locomotiva Institute.

Real life

Where the government is absent, those who need help most are united. In Rio there is an association of street vendors that enrolls and monitors the application for benefits for colleagues with no internet or bank accounts. “We apply and monitor its progress,” says activist Maria de Lourdes do Carmo. “If we are not united, everyone will suffer.”

“The help comes from NGOs and associations that were never liked by this government,” recalls Marcelo Neri, director of FGV Social, Getulio Vargas Foundation. “We need to act: the crisis has come after five years of increasing poverty. By the end of 2019, labor income inequality finally stopped growing, but it’s expected to grow again”.

“The aid is well designed. The challenge is for it to reach everyone,” says Pedro Herculano de Souza, IPEA’s technician who studies income inequality.

On Friday, the Caixa Econômica Federal announced that 9.1 million people who signed up for the program through the app or website would be paid the R$600 installment by yesterday.

When contacted, the bank failed to answer how the government will ensure that the aid reaches families without bank accounts and access to the Internet, and how they will operate the digital savings.

Internet

The government plans to start working on alternatives for getting the R$600 emergency aid to people with no internet access as of May, according to Onyx Lorenzoni, the Minister of Citizenship. The portfolio estimates that the majority of casual workers will be covered through the app and the website developed by Caixa in April.

In a conversation, Onyx said he believes that even people who do not have access to the technology can rely on a support network to complete their virtual enrollment.

“If, nevertheless, significant situations arise, we will try to reach these people. But, through the app and website we already have significant results, the Brazilians are highly digital. If someone is unable to enroll (through the website or app), they may visit a Caixa branch, a community association, in short, they have a whole network of solidarity to assist them,” he said.

The Minister also said he believes that by the end of the month most people will have received two installments of the emergency aid – with the exception of the Bolsa Família beneficiaries, who will continue receiving the funds within the pre-established periods, once a month.

“After April 30th, we will see what is still lacking for people to access because we have the whole month of May, June and early July (to effect all payments),” he said.

Onyx estimates that using the app developed by Caixa, the government should be able to trace between 20 and 25 million people considered “invisible” and who will be granted digital bank accounts to be paid the benefit.

Source: O Estado de S. Paulo