Andre Soliani and Iuri Dantas-Bloomberg, 01/13/2009
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva may add 2 million poor families to a program that makes cash handouts as part of the government’s response to slowing economic growth, the official responsible for the program said.
The expansion, which requires Lula’s approval, would extend benefits to about 5 million more citizens at a cost of 1.2 billion reais ($515 million), and help foster consumer demand, Lucia Modesto, secretary for citizen income, said in an interview in Brasilia. The goal is to reach about 13 million families by yearend, up from 11.1 million families, she said. Enlarging the so-called Bolsa Familia, Lula’s signature program, will help families that may fall into poverty as slower growth pushes up the unemployment rate, while also serving as an economic stimulus.
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