Panampodcast

Lula da Silva rode a commodities boom to economic stability and poverty reduction, becoming the most important figure in recent Brazilian history. The Bolsa Familia program was a cornerstone of his efforts to reduce inequality. Widely lauded by the international community, and used as a model elsewhere, the program is a conditional cash transfer (CCT) that gives debit cards to poor families contingent upon school attendance and vaccination of their children. But is the program ultimately creating a permanent underclass and institutionalizing inequality? Is it really reducing poverty or creating a perpetual dependence mentality? And despite its popularity, will the destitute federal government be able to maintain the program in the future?