Without mentioning by name, the Minister of Social Development, Wellington Dias, refuted TV broadcasts this Wednesday (27) and stated that 5.1 million families have left the program since 2023 due to increased income.
“They left Bolsa Família because they left poverty. In other words, these families started working as a cashier in a supermarket, in an electricity company, in the public sector, someone who graduated in medicine, the farmer’s son who is now an agronomist. In practice, with an average of 3 people per family, there are around 15 million who have already left poverty by overcoming poverty,” he said.
Wellington Dias made the statements during the program “Bom Dia, Minister”, on CanalGov (linked to the federal government). He didn’t mention Huck, but he was asked at the beginning of the interview if people stay “forever” on Bolsa Família. The minister responded that the episode involving the presenter was “ugly, so much so that [ele] came out to apologize.”
“We need to take advantage of facts like this so that we can bury once and for all the prejudice we have towards the poorest. We are a country that lived in the big house and the slave quarters. And unfortunately this is still very ingrained in people”, said the minister.
“The answer is yes: [o Bolsa Família] It is efficient and, at the same time, it is an assertive measure that is present in 140 countries around the world. If someone says differently, it’s better to study, it’s better to know the truth, because otherwise you’ll be left there like Pinocchio: your nose will start to grow and it will cause problems”, he added.
The Domingão do Huck presenter’s speech was made at a private event for businesspeople, last Saturday (23). At the time, the host asked: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how efficient is Brazil today?”
To which he replied: “Today, I find it very inefficient, on all fronts.” As an example, he cites Bolsa Família: “You don’t generate any type of stimulus for families to want to leave the program… How do you leave? How do you stimulate the family?”, asks the presenter.
After the repercussion, Luciano Huck stated in an Instagram post that his statement was taken out of context and that he is not against social aid, but in favor of its constant improvement.
In this Wednesday’s interview, the Minister of Social Development also stated that currently 7.1 million Bolsa Família beneficiaries work with a formal contract, but are still in the program because they still fall into a situation of poverty.
“We measure income. If the family is working, they earn a minimum wage, but the family has 6.7 people. When we measure income, they have not left poverty. So, they receive the full Bolsa Família and receive their salary from a formal contract. When this income rises, they surpass the poverty line, yet, to stimulate employment, they receive half of the Bolsa Família for 12 months”, he said.
The mechanism cited by Wellington Dias is the so-called Protection Rule, which maintains the granting of 50% of the benefit for 12 months for families that reach an income above R$218 per capita, but do not exceed the value of R$706 per person.
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