The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, promised, in a speech on national radio and TV, to adopt a policy of readjustment of the minimum wage that guarantees a real increase, that is, above inflation.
As of this May 1, the minimum wage will go from 1,302 reais (260 dollars) to 1,320 reais (about 264 dollars), which guarantees a real increase of 2.8%. Lula pointed out that six years ago the workers did not have a real increase, “and they were losing purchasing power day after day.”
In the next few days I will present a bill to the National Congress so that this achievement is permanent and the minimum wage is once again adjusted above inflation every year, as it happened when we governed Brazil,” the president said in a speech.
Lula promised that at the end of his term, in 2026, the minimum wage “will once again be the great instrument of social transformation that it was in the past.” According to him, the minimum wage grew 74% above inflation. “It was thanks to this that millions of Brazilian men and women were lifted out of extreme poverty and paved the way for a better life”, highlighted the president.
For him, the real increase in the minimum wage, in addition to benefiting workers, puts “more money in circulation, retail sales increase, the industry produces more.” He stressed that, with this strategy, “the wheel of the economy turns again” and “new jobs are created.”
The minimum wage will increase from $1,302 to $1,320 (260 to 264 dollars) as of May 2023. The new value, which corresponds to an increase of $18 (3.61 dollars) and a real increase of 2.8% in relation to the previous one, was established by President Luiz Inácio Lula Silva (PT), still in transition, at the end of 2022. The update of the minimum wage also modifies the calculation of pension, social and labor benefits for millions of Brazilians. The impact of the readjustment on public accounts is not yet clear.
In addition to the readjustment of the minimum wage, Lula is expected to announce a series of measures. Among the actions is a bill to establish a readjustment of the minimum wage taking into account inflation (measured by the INPC) plus the growth of the consolidated Gross Domestic Product (GDP), considering the two previous years. The policy is the same as in previous PT administrations.
According to a Valor survey, part of the package aimed at workers is the creation of a task force in charge of regulating transportation through apps. In the Budgetary Directives Law (LDO) project sent to Congress in April, the Lula government set the minimum wage at $1,389 (278 dollars) for the coming year.
