Bolsonaro speeds up payments to the poor as election looms
President Jair Bolsonaro said on Wednesday he would accelerate payments to the poor and boost public spending to fight inflation.
The spending plan, which was announced in the past few days, would entail a big push on infrastructure and social security.
Bolsonaro wants to double the amount of federal money allocated for social programmes with the total amount set at $12 billion.
The plan will also entail a big push on infrastructure which will make it easier to collect payments to the poor.
“The truth is that our poor must be given more help,” Bolsonaro said during a news conference with Congress Speaker Joao Doria, who is also a candidate for president, during the first day of the 2019 legislative session on Wednesday. “We must work with all political actors in the country and in the region. It’s a matter of social justice and economic justice.”
Bolsonaro said the government was considering increasing the maximum weekly payment to the poor to 600 reais, or $500 dollars, and it would be paid on a weekly basis.
The president also said the government was planning a big push on social security which would make it easier for the poor to qualify for welfare payments as the country faces a huge unemployment rate of more than 26 percent.
“It’s the job of the president himself [to increase] the spending and to help our poorest people,” Bolsonaro said. “We must not forget that we owe a great deal to the poor.”
The spending plan was announced on Sunday during a meeting with government staff, which was broadcast live by the president’s Facebook page. The plan also called on Congress to support the government’s spending increases. A Senate delegation which also met with the president told reporters on Wednesday the proposal was welcomed.
Bolsonaro is currently leading in the polls in the race for the presidency, according to The Associated Press and several other news outlets