Jair Bolsonaro announced a bonus for recipients of public subsidies in Brazil

The President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaroannounced Thursday that beneficiaries of state subsidy plans will start receiving this year a bonus.

The Christmas bonus was announced in an act in which the government presented a balance of its first 100 days and reaches some 14.1 million poor families They receive grants under the Bolsa Familia program, created in 2003 by then President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is now imprisoned for corruption.

In a brief speech, Bolsonaro repeated at the ceremony that the government took office on January 1 "the emphasis on valuing family and Christian values, for an education of quality and without ideological nuances ".

The Minister of the Presidency, Onyx Lorenzoni, explained at the press conference that followed the act that the increase in profits for the poorest left prominently the "desire" of the government to "make a country more fraternal", especially for "those sisters and brothers who need a solidarity network"state.

Each of the families covered by this program receives an average of 186 reais (approximately $ 50) per month and the bonus announced by the government will be of the same value and will be distributed by the end of the year.

According to official calculations, grants distributed through Bolsa Familia total about 30,000 million reals ($ 7,894 million), which represents a little over 1% of government budgets.

With the award of this bonus, this value will increase by 2,600 million reais ($ 684 million) per year, according to figures presented by the Ministry of Citizenship, in charge of the program to fight against poverty.

The majority of families benefiting from the subsidy increase reside in the northeast of the country, the least developed region with the highest poverty rates and in which Bolsonaro recorded the lowest support rates in last year's elections, which he won with 55% of the vote.