Brazil Senate approves relaxing spending limit for wellness program

The Senate of Brazil approved on Thursday the main text of a constitutional amendment that will relax the spending limit of the Government and will open space for more spending on welfare.

The measure also allows the Government to stagger the payments of the debts ordered by the courts to avoid breaking the constitutional limit of spending in 2022, an election year.

The amendment was approved in two votes and returned to the lower house for final approval, as it was modified in the Senate.

The bill gives the President’s government Jair Bolsonaro space to finance a social welfare program that will provide monthly payments of 400 reais ($ 71) to 17 million poor families, an expansion of the program Family Bag.

Opposition parties had opposed the amendment, accusing Bolsonaro of boosting social spending to bolster his chances for re-election in October.

But opposition senators backed an amended bill, saying it provided vital relief for Brazil’s poor who have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.