Possible changes to the FGTS may influence the Minha Casa Minha Vida program
Recently, Minister Luiz Marinho announced that he plans to propose to the National Congress a review of the FGTS anniversary withdrawal. The central idea is to make it possible to withdraw funds even after leaving work. This move has caused concern at the Ministry of Cities, as there is growing concern that it could harm the Minha Casa Minha Vida program for home purchases. Therefore, the ministry asked Caixa Econômica Federal to assess the impact of this measure on both the fund and the housing program.
According to the news, Abrainc, the Brazilian Association of Real Estate Developers, made a statement to the Ministry of Cities. They expressed their disagreement with the proposal, arguing that it could have profound implications for the housing program.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), the president, set a target of distributing 2 million homes this year. The Union will subsidize the remainder, approximately 1.5 million, with FGTS funds.
How does the anniversary withdrawal relate to the purchase of a home through the housing program?
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To calculate the potential damages of changes to the anniversary withdrawal in relation to home ownership, Caixa plans to send the estimated impact directly to the Civil House. This way, the institution will be able to deliberate on the viability of the proposal.
Resistance in other areas has been faced by the statements of Lula's ministers, and this case may be yet another example. This is similar to what happened in March, when Márcio França, Minister of Ports and Airports, announced a program of air tickets at R$1,400 without prior consultation with the Civil House.
Minimum wage
The minimum wage has also been a cause for concern. The Ministry of Cities believes that it is possible to reach the target of 2 million Minha Casa Minha Vida units, even with the surprise of the FGTS. However, the government's biggest concern is the deliberation on the minimum wage for the fund, which is currently being evaluated by the STF.
Roberto Barroso, the rapporteur for the case, voted to make the minimum return on deposits in the fund equal to the return on savings accounts. However, Justice Nunes Marques interrupted the vote and requested more time to review the case.
If approved, the changes will allow the federal government to not make retroactive adjustments in years when inflation exceeded the FGTS correction index. This has raised concerns at the Ministry of Cities, which fears that this decision could limit the fund's actions, resulting in the need to apply higher interest rates to loans made with its resources. This situation could make it difficult to finance affordable housing under the Minha Casa Minha Vida program and, consequently, hinder the achievement of the 2 million unit target.
Government designates three properties for housing program
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Last Thursday (03), the Secretariat of the Union's Heritage (SPU) released an ordinance that allocates three federal properties for use in the Minha Casa Minha Vida (MCMV) Entities program. The cities that will benefit will be São Paulo, Vitória and Manaus, with the properties being transformed into affordable housing within the program.
In total, the buildings have the potential to become 291 housing units. The Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services (MGI), to which the SPU is linked, released this information. The government emphasizes that this is the first stage of the Federal Property Democratization Program, which is still under development.
According to the ministry, the objective of the new program is to allocate properties with an undefined status to social interest, such as empty urban areas, empty or occupied buildings, housing complexes with families without title, informal urban centers with or without infrastructure (favelas). The MGI states that the program will have three priorities: housing provision, land regularization and urbanization, in addition to infrastructure works.
Minister Esther Dweck emphasizes that, at the request of President Lula, this project is under development. Many areas could be earmarked for affordable housing, while others could be allocated for health or education services.
