Brazil has passed a constitutional amendment allowing Jair Bolsonaro’s government to spend an extra R$41.3bn ($7.6bn) on welfare payments, in a move critics say is designed to boost his popularity ahead of a re-election campaign.
By a vote of 469-17, lawmakers in the lower house of Congress on Wednesday evening passed the bill, which enables Brasília to circumvent a ban on new or expanded social benefits during an electoral year by declaring a state of emergency. The measure has already been approved by the Senate.
Most of the additional expenditure will fund a temporary increase to an existing cash transfer scheme for the poorest families, who will receive about R$600 ($100) per month on average, up from R$400.
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