Brazil makes pandemic social program permanent

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro signed a decree on Wednesday turning a temporary program established at the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic into a permanent scheme.

The president signed a constitutional amendment, previously approved by lawmakers, to make permanent the Auxílio Brasil social welfare program, which provides a monthly payment of 400 reais (US$80) to low-income families. 

The program is expected to directly benefit a total of 18.1mn families, the government said in a release.

Auxílio Brasil has been in place since August 2021 as part of government efforts to mitigate the economic effects of the pandemic. Auxílio Brasil will replace the Bolsa Fámilia social program, which was created by the administration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2004. 

The social program was originally expected only to be temporary, but the government has seen it as an opportunity to increase its popularity among the lower-income population, historically more likely to support Bolsonaro's main rival in the October presidential election, left-wing candidate Lula. 

Lula is leading all recent polls, but Bolsonaro is closing the gap on the former president.  

The approval of the social program has major appeal to voters, according to political analysts, as the main issues for the election this year are likely to be economic while the country is suffering high levels of inflation and unemployment.