Brazil’s bolsa familia scheme marks a decade of pioneering poverty relief

Jonathan Watts – The Guardian, 12/17/2013

As one of the poorest residents in the poorest county in Brazil, life has always been a struggle for Maria Eunice Alvis.

The roof of her adobe home leaks during the storm season and vermin pose a constant threat to the health of her 10 children. There is so little money to go around, the family often goes hungry.

For most of her 40 years, survival depended on farinha, the yellowish flour from the manioc root. In wealthy cities like Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo, this is a powdery side dish. But for Alvis and other disadvantaged families in Belágua, Maranhão, it was until recently the only staple that got them through the hard times.

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Bolsa-Familia: template for poverty reduction or recipe for dependency?

Camila Nobrega – The Guardian, 11/05/2013

Ten years ago, Brazil was just one of many countries struggling against extreme poverty. Today, it has become a worldwide reference – an example of how to fight poverty.

Thanks to a programme that no Brazilian politician now dares to go against: Bolsa-Família.

Evoking admiration and criticism, the programme is now 10 years old. Brazil still struggles to create real alternatives of income generation and decent employment for all citizens. But Bolsa-Família is one of the largest existing instruments of income transfer, benefiting 13.8 million families (almost 50 million people.) It means that approximately one in four Brazilians receives the benefit – the total population is about 198 million people. Considering the scope of the programme, it has a major impact on the Brazilian economy and on people’s lives.