The relief package passed to help informal workers. The rise in Covid-19 infections and deaths. And Donald Trump’s latest move to topple Nicolás Maduro.
Some relief for Brazil’s informal workers
On Thursday, Brazil’s lower house approved an emergency salary of BRL 600 (USD 120) for informal workers and disabled people. That’s three times the amount the government had proposed a week ago. Lawmakers also passed a BRL 1,200 monthly payment for single-parent households, catering to a demand from the Women’s Caucus in Congress.
- The bill, which now heads to the Senate, establishes that a maximum of two people in a single household may receive the benefit. In its current terms, the project should cost the government BRL 43 billion in three months.
Why it matters. This emergency aid is the first broad economic measure to advance since the coronavirus crisis began. It could help over 24 million workers.
- Brazil has about 42 million informal workers or self-employed people. The former group is, by definition, one formed by precarious employment — and is more prevalent in states with low human development indexes.
- What remains to be seen is how long it will take for the aid to actually get to families....