Exception or Vision for the Future? Basic Income as Local Social Policy in Brazil
Abstract
In 2013, the city of Maricá launched a political experiment by introducing a social policy inspired by basic income (in Portuguese: Renda Básica de Cidadania de Maricá). While skeptical voices questioned the vision of the local government from the very beginning, practice has shown remarkable results: the program, which still exists today, now reaches nearly half of the city’s population, is integrated into the local economy, and has inspired similar policies in other cities and municipalities within the state. In its expansion, it recalls the early phase of one of Brazil’s most notable social policy exports: Bolsa Família, the world’s largest government cash transfer program.
But is it really that simple? What lessons can we draw from over 10 years of local, basic income-based policy in Brazil? And should we dare to compare it with the situation in Germany?
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