President Jair Bolsonaro, candidate for re-election by the PL, said that the continuity of the Aid Brazil in BRL 600 in 2023 it will depend on the approval of a new Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) by Congress, but which, if it wins the October elections, intends to maintain the new value for next year. In July, parliamentarians approved the PEC that deals with social benefits, and through it the value of the aid went from R$ 400 to R$ 600 between August and December 2022.
In an interview with the news SBT Brazil, The president said that he had already talked to Paulo Guedes, Minister of Economy, about maintaining Auxílio Brasil at R$ 600 and that the proposal for the Annual Budget Law (LOA) for 2023 will already be sent with this amount.
“It won’t be a problem because we will be responsible for that. It was agreed today with Paulo Guedes. Our proposal at the LOA already includes an indication to maintain the R$ 600 next year. Of course, we will depend on Parliament after the elections,” said the president to the SBT Brazil.
Despite this, on July 25, the Special Secretary for the Treasury and Budget of the Ministry of Economy, Esteves Colnago, stated that the federal government could set the value of Auxílio Brasil at R$ 400 in the 2023 Budget. According to the secretary, the understanding of the economic team at that time was that the legislation does not require the payment of the additional R$ 200 after December of this year.
The secretary also said that the value would have to adapt to the spending ceiling, a rule that limits the growth of public expenditure to inflation and forces spending cuts. According to him, discretionary (non-mandatory) expenses are around R$120 billion to R$130 billion a year and the increase in the benefit would lead to a cut in these expenses, reducing them to R$70 billion. “It is a considerable challenge for us to be able to maintain [o auxílio em R$ 600]”, he highlighted.
Regarding Colnago’s statements, Bolsonaro said that the final word is up to the Minister of Economy and that he spoke with Guedes before announcing the proposal.
