Social Inclusion in Brazil from 2003 to 2014: Insights of Bolsa Família Program and the Brasil Sem Miséria Plan

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the Complementary Programs component of Bolsa Família Program (PBF) and the Brasil Sem Miséria Plan (BSM), implemented in Brazil from 2003 to 2014. The authors sustain that the cash-condition package offered may not have been enough to reduce all dimensions of social inequality. Data were collected from academic literature, official reports, laws and regulations. In Brazil, the PBF and BSM, linked to a minimum wage raise policy, contributed to the reduction of economic inequality, reducing the Gini Index from 2003 to 2014, and for dropping the levels of extreme poverty from 2003 to 2014, to 2.7 percent of the population living on less than R$70.00 (USD 29.8) per month. Our study finds that, according to the differentiated citizenship concept by Iris Young and the concept of justice developed by Nancy Fraser, the complementary programs of PBF and the multidimensional strategy of BSM were effective in reducing extreme poverty and social exclusion. It achieved this through an intersectorial and transversal approach, involving new interactions between State and society, the recognition of social needs, the leadership role played by the government, and a hyper focus strategy. This, in turn, made available to the poorest families a more expressive set of government actions and policies to overcome their economic and social vulnerability.