Brazil’s President-elect Lula da Silva proposes R$600 aid payment continuity

The transition team of the president-elect, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers’ Party – PT, left), decided to present a Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) with a “waiver” (license to spend outside the spending cap) to enable proposals of the new government.

The main one, considered “non-negotiable”, is to maintain the Brazil Aid (Auxílio Brasil) of R$600 (US$117).

The announcement came from the general rapporteur of the 2023 Budget, Senator Marcelo Castro (MDB-PI), who met with Lula da Silva’s emissaries on Thursday, November 3.

The extra R$150 per child up to six years old for each beneficiary family and the real increase in the minimum wage of 1.34% above inflation should also remain outside the ceiling.

Members of the transition also discuss the need for R$15 billion to complete the minimum spending on Health.

There will be another meeting next Tuesday (November 8) to define the final value of the PEC, which may exceed R$100 billion.

The vice-president-elect, Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), will also hold meetings this Thursday at the Planalto Palace and at the TCU (Federal Audit Court), where the chief of staff, Ciro Nogueira, will participate.

Here are the other members of the committee that discussed the Budget on Thursday:

• Gleisi Hoffmann, president of the PT;
• Aloizio Mercadante, former minister and coordinator of Lula da Silva’s government plan;
• Wellington Dias (PT), former governor of Piauí and senator-elect;
• Paulo Rocha, leader of the PT in the Senate;
• Jean Paul Prates (PT), leader of the minority in the Senate;
• Confúcio Moura (MDB-RO), senator;
• Reginaldo Lopes, PT leader in the House;
• Enio Verri (PT-PR), congressman;
• Paulo Pimenta (PT-RS), congressman;
• Rui Falcão (PT-SP), congressman.

The primary coordinator of the transition to the elected government, Alckmin, said he would also talk to the presidents of the House of Representatives, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), and of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG).

The vice-president-elect said that the so-called transition PEC needs to be enacted by December 15 to pay the R$600 in the January installment of the Brazil Aid – which he repeatedly called Family Grant (Bolsa Família), hinting at the possibility of the program going back to its original name.

Besides the maintenance of the benefit, the real increase of the minimum wage, and the fulfillment of the minimum expenditure in Health, da Silva’s emissaries want money for “several services and several works” in infrastructure.

PRIORITIES

Before the meeting, the Budget rapporteur demanded “numbers” and prioritization from the new government.

“First, we have to raise the size of the problem. What is urgent, immediate, and pressing?” he said in an interview in the Senate on Thursday, November 3, before a meeting with Alckmin and other representatives of the transition team.

Castro said that the PLOA (Annual Budget Bill) sent by President Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal Party – PL, right) estimates a primary deficit (not counting debt interest payments) of R$64 billion.

And today, there is no room in the spending cap to accommodate da Silva’s proposals.

The senator from the Socialist party said that maintaining the R$600 Brazil Aid will cost R$52 billion.

The winning candidate’s promise during the runoff elections to pay an additional R$150 to beneficiary families for each child up to 6 years old will cost another R$18 billion.

“Just in the Family Grant [as the Brazil Aid was called], we would have an addition of approximately R$70 billion. There is no budgetary space,” declared Castro.

He also recalled the proposals of the PT campaign to give a real increase of 1.3% or 1.4% to the minimum wage and to increase the income tax exemption range to R$5,000.

“We have all goodwill; we will listen to the proposals that they [transition team] have to make,” said the Budget Rapporteur.

“I have to take these demands to discuss with the Budget Committee, with the party leaders, then, when we formulate a consensus, we will then negotiate again with the new representatives of the new Executive,” he added.

With information from Poder360