Brazil s government has announced plans to speed up payments to the needy this month, as President Jair Bolsonaro prepares to face leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da SilvaLula da Silva in a second round election.
Auxilio Brasil will send payments of $600 $120 to over 20 million families between October 11 and 25 and also provide a gas voucher for over 5.5 million Brazilian families.
The financial aid was scheduled to be distributed the following week, from October 18 to 31.
Auxilio Brasil program was launched under President Jair Bolsonaro's presidency, and the right-wing leader has campaigned for a second term in part on promises to continue paying the monthly benefit.
He will face da Silva in the run-off vote on October 30.
Why would we not help the poor population because of the election period? Brazil's citizenship minister Ronaldo Bento said at a press conference about the date change on Thursday that the world is coming out of a pandemic.
He said that those who are hungry can't wait.
Critics have speculated about possible political motivations, which Bento denied.
One person said that the acceleration of the aid and gas voucher has an electoral intention. Another asked if the country's Superior Electoral Court would think it was fair play.
According to the national pollster IPEC, 64% of respondents who earn minimum wage and below — the target recipients of the Auxilio Brasil program — said they planned to vote for Lula on October 30.
Twenty-nine percent of the cohort said they planned to vote for Bolsonaro.