Government Suspends Program Linked to Minha Casa, Minha Vida

By Lise Alves, Senior Contributing Reporter

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Minha Casa Minha Vida (My House My Life) the massive public low income housing campaign launched by the Brazilian Federal Government in 2009 has entered its third phase, focusing now on housing in the country’s large cities. Although government officials say that the main program is going strong, Caixa Economica Federal has suspended another program linked to this initiative, Minha Casa Melhor.

“We are revising the program, because unlike Minha Casa, Minha Vida which registers a very low default in loans, the Minha Casa Melhor has a substantial default rate,” said President Dilma Rousseff on Friday (March 6th) in Minas Gerais where she was participating in yet another Minha Casa, Minha Vida housing inauguration.

The state-run Caixa Economica, which rendered the Minha Casa Melhor program, helping those who obtained housing through Minha Casa Minha Vida get credit to furnish their new homes and purchase household appliances, announced at the end of February new contracts would not be available for this program.

Launched in 2013 the program offered credit of up to R$5,000 at low interest rates for the purchase of durable goods for the homes. The President, however, did not discard the possibility of starting up the program again later on this year.

The Minha Casa, Minha Vida program, funded primarily through the PAC 2 (Growth Acceleration Program) calls for at least one third of units to be given to families making up to three minimum wage salaries. From 2009 to 2014 data from the federal government shows that roughly two million housing units have been constructed nationwide, with an additional 350,000 units planned for the first semester of 2015.

President Rousseff has repeatedly stated that there will be no cuts in resources for the Minha Casa, Minha Vida program.