Nearly 1 Million Brazilian Families Stop Receiving Bolsa Família Social Assistance Due to Higher Income - Folha de S.Paulo

Nearly one million Brazilian families stopped receiving support from the Bolsa Família social assistance program in July due to increased household income, according to data from the Ministry of Social Development, which manages the policy.

As a result, the number of beneficiaries dropped from 20.5 million in June to 19.6 million this month. This is the lowest number of families in the program since its reformulation by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration in March 2023.

Taking into account the period when it was called Auxílio Brasil, under former President Jair Bolsonaro, this is the lowest figure since July 2022, when 18.1 million families were enrolled—just before the minimum benefit increased from R$400 to R$600.

The National Secretary for Citizenship Income, Eliane Aquino, emphasized that the decrease in families is due to positive reasons. In total, 921,000 families left the program because of higher household income. "People still strongly believe that ‘if I get a formal job, I’ll lose the benefit.’ We are working to dispel that myth," said the secretary.

In recent months, the government has partnered with companies to encourage the hiring of Bolsa Família beneficiaries and people registered in the CadÚnico. The government considers the initiative to be yielding results.