"... there is very little income redistribution ... "
Non-Brazilian here, but: doesn't Brazil basically _give_ you money if you're poor[1]?
[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters...
Non-Brazilian here, but: doesn't Brazil basically _give_ you money if you're poor[1]?
[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters...
[1] https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/...
While there are programs for income redistribution, and they do make an enormous difference on the lives of most of the poor people that receive it, it is far from enough.
The Bolsa Família program pays from USD$ 16.00 to a maximum of USD$ 153.00 (few people get the max amount) per month to a family. This benefit is payed to some 12 million families.
Just to give a more general view of the context. Brazil has the concept of a minimum monthly salary, that currently amounts to USD$ 334.15. But many people (even if employed) don't get a minimum wage per month.
On the other hand, while Brazil has the world's 7th biggest economy (already adjusted by purchasing power parity), the bottom half of the population (~85 million people) only get 13 per cent of all household income.
Yes the government has several programs to give free money to "poor" people.
With "Poor" I mean that a lot of this money get stolen, or is given to not so "poor" but criminals, before arriving to the ones that really need it.
One of it is called "Bolsa Familia" and it's also a huge vote buying machine.