Lula’s government launches a new measure to help those with debt

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in his government, has taken another measure to help people who have debt. He raised the value of the existential minimum from R$303 to R$600, a slice of a citizen’s income that cannot be taken into payroll loans or frozen by financial institutions.

The initiative seeks to protect consumers facing over-indebtedness and matches the amount required to pay basic expenses such as water and electricity.

Published this Tuesday (20) in the Official Gazette of the Federation, the government decree with the change also states that the General Secretariat for Consumers of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security organizes, periodically, joint efforts to renegotiate debts and “in order to prevent and address indebtedness in excess of consumer debts ” .

“This initiative is part of a series of efforts by our government to guarantee credit and consumption conditions for the Brazilian people, contributing to warming up the economy,” Lula wrote in a post on social networks.

At the beginning of the month, the government launched the Desenrola program to facilitate the repayment of debts of up to R$5,000. About 70 million Brazilians could benefit from default.

Debts of households with incomes up to a minimum wage (R$2,640) that were contracted by debtors will be included until the end of 2022. Starting next month, the government will hold auctions so that creditors can buy credits, offering discounts to debtors. In return for participating in the negotiations, the creditor company will be guaranteed by the national treasury if the debtor is unable to meet its obligations.

Any creditor wishing to participate in Desenrola must pay outstanding debts of up to R$100. Ministry of FinanceThere are about 1.5 million Brazilians in this position and their names may be cleared if the institutions join the programme.

With information from Agência Brasil.