December 29th local time, the Brazilian government announced the end of the emergency relief fund plan implemented nationwide this year. On that day, the Brazilian Federal Savings Bank paid 3.2 million people for the last month, totaling 1.2 billion Brazilian reals. According to the Brazilian Ministry of Economy, there is no plan to extend the payment of the relief fund in 2021.
It is reported that after completing the payment of the relief fund, the Brazilian government still has a balance of 28.9 billion realsin this additional public expenditure. According to the independent financial agency under the Brazilian Senate, the balance of the bailout will be enough to continue to be used until 2021.
For example, at the rate of R$300 per person per month (RMB 360), if the number of people receiving the relief fund is 25 million, the balance will be extended for another three months next year. However, Brazilian Economy Minister Gédes said that the government lacks sufficient reasons to extend the plan, because the possibility of economic recovery due to the COVID-19 epidemic or slowing down next year is still not ruled out.
This year, the Brazilian government discussed the program of the expanded “Family Allowance”, another welfare program in Brazil, which aims to provide financial subsidies for poor families including pregnant women and children and adolescents under the age of 15.
The original consideration of the grant expansion plan was to enable more poor families to receive higher subsidies after the end of the emergency relief plan as a transitional policy. However, due to differences between the government and parliamentarians, the plan was eventually put on hold after months of discussion.
At present, there is no indication that the Brazilian government has a new aid plan. If no new program is available, Brazil will continue to follow the previous “family allowance” plan from January next year. According to the plan, each eligible family can receive a maximum monthly subsidy of R$205.
In response to the impact of the epidemic, the Brazilian government launched an emergency relief fund program in April this year, aiming to provide financial assistance to the unemployed and freelancers in the country.
Between April and August, the government issued a total of five relief payments, each of which can receive assistance of R$600 (about R$ 720). From September, the amount has been reduced to R$300 (about R$360).
As of December, 67.9 million people across the country had received the assistance, with a total distribution amount of R$292.9 billion.
