The Brazilian state bank, Caixa Econômica, began to pay this Wednesday, January 18, the January subsidy of the Bolsa Família income transfer program, with a minimum amount of 600 Brazilian reais (R$).
The new version of the voucher foresees adding an increase of R$ 150 for children up to 6 years of age for the most needy families.
This month, the federal government's assistance initiative will reach 21,9 million families, with payments totaling R$ 13.380 billion and an average of R$ 614,21 per family, says Agency Brazil in a press release.
Starting this month, the social assistance program, which was previously called Auxílio Brasil and paid R$ 400 a month during the previous government (of Jair Bolsonaro), will once again be called Bolsa Família.
The minimum value of R$ 600 was guaranteed after the approval of a bill that allows the Government of President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva to spend this year up to R$ 145.000 million outside the public spending limit, of which 70.000 million will be used to finance the benefit.
Lula da Silva wrote on his social networks that the maintenance of the minimum value quota is in line with a commitment forged between the new government and Congress.
"Tomorrow we will begin paying R$ 600 to beneficiary families. A commitment signed during the campaign and which we achieved thanks to the PEC that we approved during the transition, since the amount was not foreseen in the previous government's budget," Lula wrote on Twitter on Tuesday night.
The payment of the additional R$ 150 for families with children up to six years old has not yet started. Last week, Development and Welfare Minister Wellington Dias said the government would not start paying the extra amount until March, after efforts to crack down on fraud are complete.
