Did Brazil Find the Solution to Poverty?

In the 2000s, Brazil’s leftist leader Lula da Silva implemented an audacious program of poverty reduction. It was called Bolsa Família, “the family stipend,” and offered a guaranteed income to all poor families in Brazil. The program went totally contrary to the prevailing neoliberal consensus.

But while the countries that implemented “welfare reform” saw poverty increase, Brazil’s program led to massive reductions in poverty. Lula’s program lifted tens of millions of people out of extreme poverty. In essence, Brazil figured out the solution for poverty, and it's very simple. Give people money, and their lives will improve.

Citations are provided at the end of the video.

0:00 A Short History of Modern Brazil
1:32 The Rise of the Workers' Party
2:37 Two Ways to Reduce Poverty
5:14 Wither Brazil?
6:42 Credits and Citations

[millenedarosa]

As a brazilian, I was shocked when I first read the title, but I get it: it's how we REDUCED poverty

[ryanpetty]

Rich Americans be like: “Have you tried not being poor about it?”

[artypyrec]

Who knew helping people means they will be helped.

[andredias]

Any Brazilian: "Hold on, we're still figuring it out"

[hongquiao]

"How Brazil fought poverty" would be a more accurate title.

[dr]

Meanwhile in sweden all families get about 170$/child and month. To me as a high income worker its "meh" amounts, but i gladly pay my taxes for those that need this money more than i do

[Caiuscicero]

Unrelated to the topic (which is very well explained), but i gotta say, Andre's ability to switch from a perfect American English to a perfect American Portuguese is astounding.

[Helenar.R.Guimaraes]

"How Brazil solved the poverty"
Plot twist: we didnt

[falkyrie]

What people think Brazilians said: "Viva la republica!"
What Brazilians actually said: "Wait, what happened to the empire?"

[izzynobre]

That's the best spoken English I ever heard from a Brazilian. Remarkable.

[TheAutisticKiwi]

"...solved poverty..."
Every Brazilian ever: Are you sure 'bout that

[archival]

I as portuguese was shocked when i don't see an commentary putting the blame in my people

[leoribeiro]

Pagliarini gives an excellent summary. However, the income transfer from Bolsa Família went from the medium class to the lower class. By not taxing the rich and promoting too little land reforms than what it was needed, the shrinking of poverty in Brazil was much lower than its potential.

Lula isn't necessarily a socialist, meaning we preferred to conciliate the classes instead of abolishing their struggle and sure, Bolsa Família manage to do a lot to transform the reality of our poor, but it would have been a lot better if PT gave less to the conservatives in Congress at that time

[alastairhewitt]

Saying that Brazil has solved poverty is incredibly tone def for the many in the country who still struggle with it, but yes programs such as Bolsa Familia should be praised & supported.

[marcossonicracer]

ok... lemme tell ya some things, as a Brazilian Myself:
First: The program wasn't created by Lula. only adapted by him. previously it was Known as "Bolsa Escola" and many other names before becoming Bolsa Familia. and yes, it did give better conditions at the time for poorer people, especially because it recieved a huge boost when Lula was in the presidency, but it wasn't by any means a "livable wage" then, and it isn't today. it is at best, a help for those that have nothing. but giving one dollar to someone that has zero, doesn't automatically make him live better. conditions in favelas continues to be bad.
Second: Lula Surfed on the Commodity boom that ended in the 2008 global crisis, that's what allowed him to make his program work. his numbers in 2009 and 2010 wee mediocre at best. using the comodity boom by itself is not wrong by any means, and anyone with the same principles of Lula would've done the same if they were on his place. the thing that this video forgets to mention is that after the crisis in 2008, the situation on social programs deteriorated, by a lot. and even with the program recieving big boosts and the minimum wage becoming USD 200 a month (at times when Lula was president it was USD 500 converted to the values of that time), the problem with Brazilian Economy is not the quantity of money itself, but that the money isn't worth anything. imagine paying 5 or 7 dollars for a Litter (not a gallon, a Litter) of Gasoline, for example, today. yes, things were cheaper at the time Lula was in the presidency, the Dollar was much lower than today, that's a fact, he did a lot of undeniable good things. but it wasn't his merit alone. and this is what this video fails to tell.
Third: his succesors were a disaster. Ask anyone, Dilma was a disaster, Temer was a disaster. and Bolsonaro is the worst disaster of them all. a plethora of bad decisions, corruption scandals from both sides of the political spectrum, not to mention Millions and Millions in money to the pockets of the rich. this isn't an Exclusivity from Bolsonaro's Regimen, it comes from long, and it shows.
Fourth: if you think Favelas are bad. boy, you know nothing. try searching for Palafitas. that's what the pinnacle of a bad place to be. and yes, they did recede from the past for today, but at the same time, you cannot say that inequality disappeared or that Bolsa Familia made even a small dent on it. it helps of course, any help to anyone that has nothing is life changing, but it is not enough, and we all here know it.
Fifth: Both sides on the Political panorama were wrong on the Military regimen time. let's not forget the Araguaia Guerrillas, the Kidnaping of Diplomats and the Bomb attack on the Recife International airport. the military regimen Killed people on DOPS, and tortured, that's a fact. and there is people that is missing to this day. but the people on the Other side are not saints either. both sides tortured and killed people. and Lula's Allies were members of those Groups, with Dilma, Lula's Successor, being a member an Anti-Government Group at that time herself.

yes, Lula and the PT did good things, but so did terrible things. Show both sides and expose the skeletons of both sides, please.

[Daryo]

"Como Brasil resolveu a pobreza"

Eu: Resolveu?

[Gio-ymuj]

As a brazilian I must say, life here is hard my man.

I'm happy we have universal healthcare though, even if it's not perfect.

Btw, Bolsa Família helped a lot of people. Put the cash in people's hands and the money will flow, generating economic growth.

[guilhermemuratore]

Lula's reforms did a lot of good for the brazillian workers, but unfortunately they showed the limitations of working within the framework of the bourgeois democracy
For him to pass legislations such as bolsa familia he made deals with the center-right carrer politicians therefore expanding their reach and cementing even more the grasp of plantaion owners and mining companies on the brazillian government

[kaboon]

As a brazillian, it's nice to see the international community sheding some light on us.

[allancardoso]

"As a brazilian, extremely oversimplified and exaggerated video essay, clearly with strong political bias. Cherry picking statistics and historical events while neglecting others is one of the most deceiving ways one can lie by telling the truth."