By TADEU ALENCAR ARRAIS & AMANDA FERNANDES*

The changes to the BPC were included in a project that provides for a broad package of tax breaks. It is the unequivocal counterpart of the poor to the rich.

“Our feminism needs to confront poverty. Poverty in Brazil is female and black. The feminism of the 99% is anti-capitalist” (Talíria Petrone, Preface, Feminism for the 99% – a manifesto. p. 13).

Interpreting rules almost always requires a lot of attention. It is easy to get lost in the tangle of articles and paragraphs that hide a wide range of intentions. This does not happen, given the simplicity of the message, with Bill 1847-2024.

News released by the Chamber of Deputies on 12/09/2024 leaves no doubt about its intention: “Bill 1847/24 approved by the Chamber of Deputies this Thursday (12) proposes measures to combat irregularities in social and pension benefits to fund the regressive payroll tax relief for 17 sectors of the economy”. (Agência Câmara de Notícias, 2024)

The changes to the Continuous Benefit Payment were included in a bill that provides for a broad package of tax breaks. This is the unequivocal counterpart of the poor to the rich. Chapter VI is entitled “Measures to combat fraud and abuse in public spending”.

Article 29 amends Law number 8.742, of December 7, 1993, and presents the following:

12-A. The applicant for the Continuous Benefit Benefit, or the legal guardian, will be asked to register biometrically in the National Identity Card – CIN, voter registration card or National Driver's License – CNH.

Sole paragraph. If it is not possible to register the applicant's biometrics, it will be mandatory for the legal guardian.” (NR)

“Art. 21-B. Beneficiaries of the Continuous Social Assistance Benefit – BPC who are not registered in the Single Registry for Social Programs of the Federal Government – ​​Single Registry or when their registration has been out of date for more than 48 months must regularize the situation within the following deadlines, counted from the effective notification by bank or other service channels:

I – 45 days for small municipalities; and

II – 90 days for medium and large municipalities or metropolises, with a population of over 50 thousand inhabitants.

One issue precedes the preliminary analysis of the impacts of Bill 1847/24. It is about motivation. The Federal Government has regularly announced its intention to cut expenses in order to meet the requirements of the fiscal adjustment. The figures presented in relation to the Continuous Benefit Payment were not the result of a magical exercise, although the Federal Government has not bothered to provide more detailed explanations. They frequently point to savings of approximately six billion reais with the “revision” of something like 600 thousand Continuous Benefit Payments. The media has adhered, with few exceptions, to the punitive narrative.

According to information from the MDS (2024), in September 2024, of the 6.117.973 active benefits of the Continuous Benefit Provision, 5.605.551 were registered in Cad-Único, a total equivalent to 91% of the benefits issued. Apparently, in the absence of more precise communication, these 512.422 beneficiaries will be the preferred targets of the “fine-tooth comb”, which would correspond to a total of R$723.523.864 per month or R$8.683.478.368 per year.

Part of the fiscal deficit caused by the new and renewed tax exemptions will be covered by the revisions, a euphemism for cuts, in BPC resources. This information, however, is still abstract, especially when we do not consider, first, its material manifestation in the territory and, second, the qualification of the type of benefit, especially from concessions by gender.

Figure 2 shows the total number of benefits issued by municipality that are not registered in Cad-Único. It is important to remember that the Continuous Benefit Payment was created and materialized in the national territory before Cad-Único. There is a gap between the 1988 Constitution (Brazil, 1988), the LOAS of 1993 (Brazil, 1993) and the beginning of the requirement to register in Cad-Único, which occurred from 2016. A considerable part of these people, therefore, at the time of the granting of benefits, did not fail to comply with the requirements stipulated in the legislation. There is no, beforehand, neither fraud nor abuse on the part of beneficiaries not registered in Cad-Único.

The first requirement that appears in the text is biometrics. This is an operation that, for people accustomed to dealing with technology, is apparently simple. However, it is not only the availability of technical devices that is a concern, but also the location and access to the Internet. Access to information in a country of 8,5 million square kilometers, with ecological and economic conditions that impose limits on the reproduction of life, should be considered. The gap, revealed by the demand, between a public characterized by little literacy and the demands of the technological universe of internet was disregarded. The requirement will often fall to the legal guardian.

For those who are not registered or for those whose registration is more than 48 months out of date, the regularization imposed a different deadline. It is 45 days for small municipalities and 90 days for medium and large municipalities with a population over 50. It will be more or less like this. Those who live in São Paulo, with 11.451.999 inhabitants (IBGE, 2022), will have twice as much time, 90 days, to register and/or update their registration, while those who live in Barcelos (AM), a municipality with 18.834 inhabitants, will have only 45 days.

The Brazilian territory has 54 municipalities with an area greater than 20 thousand square kilometers. Altamira (PA), Barcelos (AM) and São Gabriel da Cachoeira (AM), have, respectively, 159.599.328 km², 122.461,086 km2 and 109.181.240 km². In dozens of these municipalities, it is not so simple to access urban areas that concentrate public services and technical resources such as broadband provision. This is the case, as shown in Figure 3, of the State of Amazonas, which is experiencing a collapse in the circulation systems of people, goods and information due to the drought. It is frightening that the tax inspectors on duty do not bother to consider the complexity of our geography.

A different reality is that of the 675 Brazilian municipalities that concentrate 75,36% of unregistered beneficiaries, a significant fraction in metropolitan areas, which received 45 more days than the first. This rule does not consider the way the Brazilian urban network is structured. It is common in Brazilian metropolitan regions to have municipalities with fewer than 20 inhabitants, but which, due to spatial and functional integration, have greater access to services and, fundamentally, to INSS agencies.

This is not the case for municipalities with fewer than 50 inhabitants, which are spread out throughout the country. The burden of proof, or in other words, the responsibility for re-registering with Cad-Único and, therefore, ensuring the continued existence of the beneficiary, will always fall on the beneficiary. The Federal Government seems to be unaware of the procedure for active search, which would mean activating the complex bureaucracy, in the positive sense, of Social Welfare, especially at the municipal level. But the logic reproduced, as usual, is to punish those with less access to information.

In the original arrangement of LOAS (1993), based on a reading more sensitive to the demands of the territory, the Legislator predicted these demands:

§ 7 If there are no accredited services in the beneficiary's Municipality of residence, he/she will be referred to the nearest Municipality that has such a structure.

The territorial location is even more worrying when we consider the issue of gender. The beneficiaries and their legal guardians live in a wide range of places, such as villages located in the semi-arid region or on the banks of the Amazon rivers, the dry border areas, the quilombola communities and the metropolitan outskirts. The issue is not only located in the greater issuance, from a global perspective, of benefits to women. In the case of benefits for the disabled, the male population was 304.315 more benefits than the female population.

It is worth remembering that Law Number 12.470, of 2011, which amended the LOAS, defines, for the purposes of granting Continuous Benefit Payments to people with disabilities:

§ 2 For the purpose of granting the continued benefit, a person with a disability is considered to be one who has a long-term impediment of a physical, mental, intellectual or sensory nature, which, in interaction with one or more barriers, may obstruct their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with other people.

It is worth noting that, in relation to the granting of benefits for people with disabilities, although men predominate, women are, to a considerable extent, responsible for daily care in a wide range of situations that have only dedication and daily suffering in common, in each latitude of this country. In this case, the profile of the beneficiaries matters. A report on the UOL website (22/07/2024), entitled “Autism and judicialization account for 60% of the increase in BPC for people with disabilities”, based on access to unpublished data from the INSS, summarizes the evolution of grants:

Autism is BPC condition no. 1

Autism is currently the health condition that most often results in BPC benefits being granted by the INSS. Next in line are mild or moderate mental retardation, schizophrenia, blindness and ADHD.

Of every 100 new benefits for autistic people in 2024, 11 were for blindness — the most common physical disability in the BPC. The proportion for other mental conditions is 21 for mild or moderate mental retardation, 15 for schizophrenia and 10 for ADHD.

Autism in the BPC is greater than the numbers show, because it is also included in a large part of the court decisions. But it is not possible to measure it, as there is no ICD (International Classification of Diseases) data on the benefits granted by court order.

Most autism-related benefits are for children and adolescents, which raises the issue of the longevity of benefits. The age profile of beneficiaries, as shown in Figure 5, is quite distinct. The age group up to 19 years old, for people with disabilities, accounted for 42,4% of beneficiaries, of which 45,85% were female. The profile of beneficiaries of the elderly category is different, with the 65 to 69 age group accounting for 91,44% of the benefits issued in 2022. It is possible, based on the age profile data, to analyze the longevity of benefits. This may be one way to understand the expansion of benefits for people with disabilities in recent years.

There is no need, given the empirical evidence, to prove the fact that women are held responsible for caring for people with disabilities, as if it were a kind of original sin. Mothers, often single mothers, are responsible for caring for children and elderly people suffering from illnesses that, to varying degrees, make them incapable of carrying out daily activities to maintain their lives. Therefore, these women will be held responsible and feel defeated by the suspension or revocation of benefits.

Figure 6, based on data from the PNAD, shows the rates of caregiving tasks performed by residents of households or non-resident relatives, by sex and age group. This is the ratio between the number of people, by gender, responsible for home care and the total number of people aged 14 or over. The difference, to the detriment of women, is recorded in all age groups, being greater in the 14 to 24 age group, and may indicate important issues regarding the responsibility for caregiving by adolescents and young people, which also harms the academic performance of young women and adolescents and immobilizes the young and adult female workforce.

It is not uncommon for women, as a way of adding some income to help with daily costs, especially when the care is intended for people with disabilities, to enter the informal job market, such as reselling cosmetics.

However, when we consider the hours spent on household chores and caring for others, there is still a regional and racial issue. The data indicate that women spend 9,6 hours more per week on household chores than men. As can be seen from Figure 7, women are at a greater disadvantage in the Brazilian Northeast. In the case of black women, this difference is greater, which indicates a situation of inequality, which is a recurring feature of our history, associating gender and race. The overwork of women, with double shifts, is a recognized fact in our economic and social history. These asymmetries, especially among the most vulnerable groups, are reproduced in the universe of the Continuous Benefit Grant.

It is not without reason that the announcement of a review of social benefits appears more frequently during times of fiscal adjustment. It is not necessary to remember that we live under the aegis of the New Fiscal Framework. In the game of political power and representation, therefore, it is easier for the punitive rod to be directed at the most vulnerable side. It is easier for the punitive rod to be directed at women who allocate the benefit of a Minimum Wage to family food than at young pensioner ladies who are busy spending their generous pensions on Dolphin Mall, in Miami.

It is difficult to recognize that each of the more than six million Continuous Benefit Payments issued monthly reflects the violent encounter of race, class and, fundamentally, gender. Holding them accountable in the sphere of punitive public policy is as cowardly as individual accountability in the private sphere, which attributes to them the central role in caring for the elderly and the sick.

* Tadeu Alencar Arrais He is a professor at the Department of Geography at the Federal University of Goiás (UFG).

*Amanda Fernandes is a teacher in the public education system.

To read the first article in this series click on https://dpp.cce.myftpupload.com/o-beneficio-de-prestacao-continuada-e-a-gestao-da-miseria/

References

BRAZIL. Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil. Brasília, Saraiva, 1988.

BRAZIL. Law No. 12.435 of July 6, 2011. Amends Law No. 8.742 of December 7, 1993, which provides for the organization of Social Assistance. Official Gazette of the Union: section 1, Brasília, DF, p. 1, July 7, 2011. Available at:https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_Ato2011-2014/2011/Lei/L12435.htm#art1.

BRAZIL. Law No. 8.742 of December 7, 1993. Provides for the organization of Social Assistance and other measures. Official Gazette of the Union: section 1, Brasília, DF, December 7, 1993. Available at: https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/l8742.htm

BRAZIL. Interministerial Ordinance MDS/MPS No. 27, of July 25, 2024. Provides for the registration and registration update process for maintaining the Continuous Social Assistance Benefit – BPC for beneficiaries not registered in the Single Registry for Social Programs of the Federal Government, or who have an outdated registration, under the terms and deadlines stipulated in this Ordinance. Official Gazette, Brasilia, July 25, 2024. Available at: https://www.in.gov.br/en/web/dou/-/portaria-interministerial-mds/mps-n-27-de-25-de-julho-de-2024-574542377.

CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES. Text approved by the Chamber provides for measures to combat irregularities in social and pension benefits. Chamber News Agency, 12 sep. 2024. Available at: https://www.camara.leg.br/

CARTA CAPITAL. Government wants to save R$17 billion with Social Security and BPC in 2025. Capital letter, 28 Aug. 2024. Available at: https://www.cartacapital.com.br/politica/governo-quer-economizar-r-17-bilhoes-com-previdencia-e-bpc-em-2025/

DATAPREV. Infologo – AEPS. Social Security historical data platform. Available at: https://www3.dataprev.gov.br/infologo/GCON/PU02/PU02.php

IBGE PNAD – Annual Continuous National Household Sample Survey. IBGE Automatic Recovery System – SIDRA. Available at: https://sidra.ibge.gov.br/

MDS. Ministry of Social Development. VISDATA Platform. Secretariat of Evaluation, Information Management and Single Registry (SAGICAD). Brasília, DF: MDS, 2022. Available at: https://aplicacoes.cidadania.gov.br/vis/data3/data-explorer.php

SAID, Flávia; ANDRADE, Mariana. Government estimates savings of R$6,4 billion in 2025 with BPC review. Metropolis, 28 Aug. 2024. Available at: https://www.metropoles.com/brasil/governo-economia-de-r-64-bi-revisao-bpc

BRAZIL. Tax Waivers. Transparency Portal. Available in: https://portaldatransparencia.gov.br/renuncias

FEDERAL SENATE. Bill No. 1847, of 2024. Senate, 2024. Available at: https://www25.senado.leg.br/web/atividade/materias/-/materia/163641

ROSSI, Amanda. Autism and judicialization account for 60% of the increase in BPC for people with disabilities. UOL, São Paulo, July 22, 2024. Available at: https://noticias.uol.com.br/politica/ultimas-noticias/2024/07/22/autismo-acoes-judiciais-aumento-bpc-corte-governo-lula.htm

GARCIA, Alexandre Novais. Government combs through BPC and publishes new rules to prevent fraud. UOL, São Paulo, July 26, 2024. Available at: https://economia.uol.com.br/noticias/redacao/2024/07/26/pente-fino-bpc.htm?cmpid=copiaecola

INSS. National Institute of Social Security. Ministry of Social Security. Social Security Statistics. Available at: https://www.gov.br/previdencia/pt-br/assuntos/previdencia-social/dados-estatisticos-previdencia-social-e-inss

PETRONE, Talíria. Preface. Feminism for the 99% – a manifesto. Arruzza, C.; Bhattacharya, T.; Fraser, N. New York, New York, 2019.

Note

[1] This article summarizes the second part of the report's arguments. In defense of BPC – the management of poverty as a veneer for fiscal austerity, published by the Brazilian Social State Observatory as a result of the approval of Bill Number 1847/24, which deals with tax exemptions and measures to combat fraud in Continuous Benefit Payments. Available using this link.

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