Government announces R$200 "coronavoucher" to support informal workers.
Economy Minister Paulo Guedes announced this afternoon a temporary financial benefit for informal workers, who are among those most affected by the coronavirus crisis. The voucher will begin to be distributed in two weeks and will be R$ 200 per month for the next three months.
Giovanna Sutto, Infomoney - The Ministry of Economy announced this Wednesday (18) a temporary financial benefit for informal workers: it is a kind of voucher given to families who are destitute, discouraged and totally outside the formal economy in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, a disease caused by the new coronavirus. Informally, the benefit is being called “coronavoucher”.
Economy Minister Paulo Guedes announced that the voucher will begin to be distributed within two weeks and will be worth R$200 per month, equivalent to two basic food baskets, to be distributed over the next three months.
The benefit is expected to be offered to approximately 18 million families for four months and is an emergency measure considering the turbulent times with the spread of the coronavirus, which is leaving many people in isolation. The measure will cost R$ 15 billion to public coffers.
Guedes said the system will be set up quickly, without bureaucracy, and the money will be paid to citizens who are not receiving any other type of financial assistance.
“The Caixa Econômica Federal has 26 service points. They are already being prepared. Those interested in the voucher will present themselves, state their name, and provide some form of identification. The attendant will check if the name is already listed as a beneficiary of Bolsa Família or BPC (Continuous Benefit Payment). If they are not receiving anything, they will be eligible to receive the voucher and will receive the money immediately,” Guedes told the newspaper Poder 360.
The Caixa team will be trained and will have a checklist to identify who has registered and who should not receive the benefit in order to prevent fraud, the minister said.
“It’s not a universal income program, nor a basic income, as some have mistakenly said. Brazil is not in a position to give money to everyone right now. We are not going to give money to the rich. In the second month that people go to receive the payment at Caixa Econômica Federal (a Brazilian bank), an additional check will have already been carried out. Then, those who registered without being entitled will no longer receive it,” explains the minister.
On other occasions, the minister has said that increasing the Bolsa Família benefit amount is a possibility and that around 1,2 million families are being included in the program.