Lula recreates national body to fight hunger

Photo: Alf Ribeiro/Shutterstock

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Tuesday signed off on the recreation of the National Council for Food and Nutrition Security (Consea), which former President Jair Bolsonaro had deactivated in January 2019. The body is considered a cornerstone in the fight against food insecurity and hunger.

“Fighting hunger is a lifelong mission for me, and today we take another step towards restoring the right to food for our people,” the president said on Twitter. Upon taking office on January 1 this year, Lula pinpointed the fight against hunger as his top priority.

In the past, Consea implemented food donation programs targeting low-income families. It also placed nutritionists in public schools and procured food for school lunches from small family producers, among other initiatives.

Elisabetta Recine, who headed the body until its extinction, will return to the position. “We, defenders of the right to proper eating, are firm, strong, resilient, and we will not surrender,” Ms. Recine said during her inauguration.

Research shows that almost 60 percent of Brazilian families live with some degree of food insecurity, which accounts for more than 125 million people. Families led by black women and residents of rural areas are more severely affected by food insecurity.

Last year, The Brazilian Report published an in-depth multimedia report on the recent escalation of hunger in the country. The report was shortlisted as one of the world’s 94 best stories of 2022 by the True Story Award.

This week, President Lula is expected to also announce the reorganization of the government’s main cash-transfer program, which will go back to being called Bolsa Família after it was rebranded Auxílio Brasil under Mr. Bolsonaro.