Bolsonaro announces the end of the R$ 600 emergency aid.
"If the country becomes too indebted, we will have a problem," said Jair Bolsonaro. Brazil is suffering from the rising curve of Covid-19 numbers, and many sectors of the economy remain stagnant.
Reuters - President Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday that the government will negotiate with the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate a new amount for the fourth and fifth installments of the emergency aid provided by the federal government during the coronavirus pandemic, but stressed that it is not possible to maintain the aid at the current value of 600 reais.
"The federal government can't handle another one of that same amount, which costs us around 50 billion reais per month. If the country becomes too indebted, we're going to have problems," said the president in an interview after the launch event for the Agromais TV channel, owned by Bandeirantes.
"It will be negotiated with the Chamber, the Speaker of the Chamber, the President of the Senate, a slightly lower amount, and extending it for another two months might be something we can manage, but not the full amount of 600 reais," he added.
The Speaker of the House, Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), has publicly defended maintaining the value of 600 reais in future installments of the emergency aid.
Bolsonaro defended the approval of the new sanitation framework, citing this issue as the "most important at this moment" being processed in Congress. He mentioned that the country has almost 100 million people who do not have piped water and sewage systems. According to him, improving this issue will provide relief in terms of health regarding diseases related to sanitation.