Datafolha: financial optimism is bigger amongst those that obtain Auxílio Brasil

53% of beneficiaries think that the situation in the country will improve, against 47% of those who do not receive

The beneficiaries of Auxílio Brasil are more optimistic about the future of the country’s economy than the portion of the population that is not served by the assistance program, which replaced the former Bolsa Família.

According to a Datafolha survey, 53% of voters who receive the benefit believe that the country’s economic situation will improve in the coming months. Among those who are not served by the income distribution program, the share of optimists is 47%.

It was also among the beneficiaries that optimism soared more strongly.

In the last survey, carried out in June, 36% of those who received the benefit believed that the country’s economy would improve. The slice increased 55% in this period.

Among non-beneficiaries, this sentiment was shared by 32% of respondents. The share has expanded 47% since June.

In August, Auxílio Brasil was expanded by the government and started to pay a minimum installment of R$ 600 – the new amount continues until December. Boosting Auxílio Brasil would be a strategy by the current government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to try to minimize the impact of inflation on the poorest families and also strengthen the program’s brand, on the eve of the presidential election.

A further 2.2 million families were also included in the program and the number of people assisted reached 20.2 million. Beneficiaries of the income distribution program represent 1 in 4 Brazilians.

According to the institute, the pessimistic feeling about the economy also decreased among the population receiving Auxílio Brasil, from 29% to 16%. Distrust is greater among those who do not receive the benefit: 19% in August. In June, that number was 36%.

Datafolha interviewed 5,744 voters in 281 cities between August 16 and 18. The study’s margin of error is two percentage points, plus or minus. The research was commissioned by Sheet and by TV Globo.

The rate of beneficiaries of Auxílio Brasil who foresee an improvement in their economic situation in the coming months grew from 53% to 61%. Those who believe their financial condition will deteriorate fell 12% in June to 7%.

For voters who are outside the program, 57% are betting on an improvement in their personal financial situation. Before it was 45%. Those who think the situation will get more difficult dropped from 16% to 8%.

WOMEN ARE MAJORITY AMONG BENEFICIARIES OF THE BRAZIL AID

Women are the majority among voters served by Auxílio Brasil, according to a Datafolha survey. According to the survey, in August they represented 62% of the beneficiaries on the government payroll, while men were responsible for 38% of the benefits granted.

The data point to a slight reduction in the disparity between men and women who headed beneficiary families, compared to June. At the time, 67% of the beneficiaries were women and 33% were men.

Paola Carvalho, director of institutional and international relations at the RBRB (Brazilian Basic Income Network), says that women are the majority in social programs because there is a preference for them to be registered in CadÚnico as responsible for the family.

According to Paola, not putting women in charge contributes to an increase in the vulnerability of the female public.

“In the past, men kept the benefit money and did not pass it on to women, who were unable to buy the children’s things. Directing the registration to be in the name of women is an achievement in some social policies.”

In addition, households headed by women are more likely to be affected by inequality in income distribution. “The poorer a family is identified in the Cadastro Único, the more likely it is to be headed by women, the more likely it is to be in extreme poverty,” she says.

PROFILE OF VOTERS WHO RECEIVE BRAZIL AID

According to the institute, more than half of Brazilian voters who receive Auxílio Brasil studied up to high school (52%), while 42% completed only elementary school. In June, 46% had completed high school and 38% had completed elementary school.

At least a third (32%) of program beneficiaries say they are not economically active. In June, the rate was 30%.

In relation to occupation, among those who receive the installments of the aid stand out people who survive on odd jobs (20%), unemployed (17%) and housewives (16%). Indexes that showed little variation compared to June,

In terms of religion, Catholics continue to be the most attended public. In August, 51% of beneficiaries said they were Catholic, while 25% said they were evangelical. 11% declared themselves without religion.

The population that depends on government aid is concentrated more intensively in cities in the interior of the country: 63%. 19% of those who receive the benefit live in metropolitan regions and 17% are from national capitals, the same level as two months ago.

Source: Leaf