(Bloomberg) Brazil’s senate backed a $7.8 billion round of Covid aid for the poor as a new wave of the pandemic batters the economy and pushes the health system to the brink of collapse. The plan to revive last year’s cash handout program is part of a constitutional amendment that includes compensatory fiscal measures demanded by Economy Minister Paulo Guedes to show the government remains committed to austerity after a record budget deficit.
Brazil Senate Backs Covid Aid With Fiscal Fix as Pandemic Soars
Bloomberg 3/4/2021 Samy Adghirni and Martha Beck
(Bloomberg) Brazil’s senate backed a $7.8 billion round of Covid aid for the poor as a new wave of the pandemic batters the economy and pushes the health system to the brink of collapse.
The plan to revive last year’s cash handout program is part of a constitutional amendment that includes compensatory fiscal measures demanded by Economy Minister Paulo Guedes to show the government remains committed to austerity after a record budget deficit in 2020.
Senators approved the so-called emergency bill in two rounds of voting on Wednesday night and Thursday. They rejected all amendments that sought to further water down Guedes’s austerity measures, showing organization of government allies and fueling a rally in local assets as investors breathed a sigh of relief. The proposal now moves to the lower house, with a possible vote next week.