Bolsonaro says emergency aid should be R$250 for four months starting in March

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday, February 25th, that the government should settle the value of the emergency aid at R$250, to be paid from March for a maximum period of four months.

“I met with Paulo Guedes [Economy] today. What is to be expected? From March, for four months, R$250 of emergency aid. This is what will be provided. We are still discussing this, mainly with the presidents of the Chamber [Arthur Lira (PP-AL)] and the Senate [Rodrigo Pacheco (DEM-MG)] because we must make sure that what we agree on will have been done together, it will not be just me and the economic team, it will be together with the Legislature also, and that it will ultimately be honored by all of us,” said Bolsonaro in his weekly live stream.

Initially, Guedes advocated that the amount should be R$200, but legislators wanted more. Last year, 5 installments of R$600 and another 4 worth R$300 were paid out.

“So, another four months to see if the economy picks up for good, picks up for real,” Bolsonaro continued. The president said that at the end of this time, he hopes to have a proposal for the new Bolsa Família (Family Grant) to be paid from July.

“This is our intention and we are working on it,” he said.