Lula government unveils $180 bn benefit plan and hands over 1.6 k homes

The administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced a "bondade" package that now totals more than R$ 180 billion. The package comprises 16 measures, including six that affect public finances directly and ten credit lines with lower‑than‑market interest rates for sectors such as agriculture, transport, micro‑entrepreneurs and app‑based delivery workers. Notable items are a R$ 15 bn injection into the FGO fund for debt renegotiations, a R$ 21.2 bn credit line for truck and bus purchases, a R$ 30 bn line for taxi‑driver fleet renewal and a reduction in diesel subsidies that required up to R$ 16 bn to offset fuel‑price impacts from the Iran war.

On the same day the federal government delivered 1,619 housing units of the Minha Casa, Minha Vida program in six states, bringing the two‑day total to 1,753 homes for 6,476 people and representing an investment of R$ 262.9 million. Additional deliveries included 214 homes in Itabaiana, Sergipe, raising the cumulative tally of homes built in the state to over 5,000.

Simultaneously, the government announced R$ 991 million in health, education and housing projects across seven states. The investments cover the inauguration of ten new Federal Institute campuses, new hospitals and ambulances, mobile dental units and the delivery of 1,753 homes. The ceremony also featured President Lula’s controversial middle‑finger gesture while defending public access to quality services.