Few, if any, social welfare projects in history have ever made as much headway in social development as the Brazilian government’s Bolsa Familia program. In less than two decades after its inception in 2003, Bolsa Familia has succeeded in dramatically improving living conditions for the poor while reducing the inequality gap in Brazil on an unprecedented scale. What role has the Bolsa Familia played in tackling poverty and long-run development issues in Brazil and additionally, influences has it had in other countries’ policymaking? Brazil’s effective conditional cash transfer (CCT) Bolsa Familia program has promised a steady source of income for the impoverished - on the condition that education and medical treatment be ensured by the parents …show more content…
Bolsa Familia has so far proved to be extremely cost-effective, compared to other alternatives such as traditional welfare programs and pension systems, requiring less than 0.5% of Brazil’s GDP worth of funding (Huffington Post). The Brazilian government further reinforced the Bolsa Familia’s image of a worthwhile investment, stating that there was a substantial return of 1.78 reais to the economy for every single Real, the Brazilian currency, the government invested into the program (the …show more content…
On the national level, the Bolsa Famlia was initially difficult to enact due to the existence of a staunch opposition against any type of legislation involving government handouts; in the following years, that same resistance would not remain as sturdy. Not surprisingly, the Bolsa Familia dominated Brazilian politics in the aftermath of its introduction. After introducing the program, the Worker’s Party, the ruling political party in Brazil, earned the loyalty of millions of supporters in the destitute north of Brazil; many of those were penniless families who have credited the Bolsa Familia with improving their lives in some way. The rate of approval the Bolsa Familia by the public in the 2014 general election was higher than most government legislations before it - three out of every four Brazilian voters expressed support for the program – to the point that even the opposition party running for office is competing with the ruling party to expand the initiative to greater