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The “Vale Gás” financial support, intended to cover the cost of cooking gas for low-income families, faces obstacles due to spending restrictions.
During President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's term, the program suffered from a reduction in public funds, putting aid for almost 2 million families at risk as early as next December.
It is worth noting that this extra benefit is equivalent to the full value of the average 13 kg gas cylinder in Brazil. The federal government pays the bonus bimonthly, and the next installment will be deposited this month, August.
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Based on the information provided, there will be no change in the August and October funds. However, as we have indicated, the budget reduction may begin to take effect as early as December.
Therefore, it is clear that, without the “Vale Gás”, many families may find themselves in a state of distress, facing extra challenges to bear the cost of cooking gas, crucial for the functioning of their kitchens and the adequate preparation of food.
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If you are a beneficiary of the Bolsa Família program and receive the “Vale Gás” supplement, it is essential that you are aware of the information released by the federal government about these cuts. That is why we have prepared this article. Let’s understand the background of these actions together.
First of all, let's better understand how Vale Gás works.
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To combat the crisis experienced by families who could not purchase cooking gas due to lack of financial resources during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Brazilian government launched the “Vale Gás” program in 2021.
It is a financial benefit provided bimonthly per family, based on the average price of a 13 kg gas cylinder in Brazil. The amount currently designated for the “Vale Gás” is R$$ 110.
This aid aims to ensure that families have regular and safe access to cooking gas. So far, the government has paid three installments of the benefit in the months of February, April and June.
Budget constraints in Vale Gás
The Ministry of Social Development, responsible for administering programs such as Vale Gás, suffered a blow when R$262 million was blocked in its budget.
Unfortunately, this blockade directly impacted the program that provides support for cooking gas to needy families. In order to comply with the spending cap, the government was forced to withdraw funds from Vale Gás for the month of December.
This reduction represents a significant portion of the total programme budget of R$1.8 billion, which has not yet been made available to beneficiaries.
Given this, there is serious concern regarding the financing of the program until the end of the year.
If measures to replenish the budget are not adopted, it is possible that the program will not have sufficient resources to serve all beneficiary families.
Therefore, this situation puts at risk the food security and quality of life of many vulnerable families, who depended on the benefit to meet part of their basic needs.
Therefore, the scarcity of resources can worsen the conditions of poverty and social vulnerability of these families.
More cuts
Read also: Restructuring of Bolsa Família? Understand the changes with the current MP
The Lula government was forced to block R$1.5 billion in this year's public budget, affecting several ministries due to the still-current spending cap.
To replace the spending cap, the government is pressuring Congress to approve the new Fiscal Framework, which has already passed through the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, but has undergone changes and returned to the Chamber for the expected final approval this semester.
With the change in fiscal rules, the government will have the chance to create new space in the budget and review previous cuts. This will also allow the option of making new budget reallocations.
The Vale Gás program, as mentioned previously, had its funding cut by the Ministry of Development, Social Assistance, Family and Fight Against Hunger.
However, the cuts also affected the Ministry of Health, with a reduction of R$452 million. The Ministry of Education, in turn, had a block of R$332 million.
