Bolsa família e o combate à fome: percepção das famílias beneficiárias sobre a experiência de Belo Horizonte (MG)

Abstract

Hunger is a serious and long term expression of the social question in Brazil. Its persistence reflects the high degree of our social inequality. Since the Brazilian government began to intervene on social issues - a process begun in the 1930s it s possible to observe a set of public interventions against hunger, with different designs, approaches, characteristics and effectiveness. In 2003, the federal government launched the Programa Bolsa Família, in perspective to combat hunger and poverty in our country. This is a program aimed at poor and pauper people and associate the money transfer to with a set of conditionalities. This dissertation aims to analyze the impact of the Bolsa Família in combating hunger. It focuses the beneficiary families perceptions. The study builds on the experience of implementing the program in Belo Horizonte, more specifically in the regional Northwest. The survey contains bibliographic and documentary on the program, either in the national and municipal and interviews with a representative of the municipal and the beneficiary families. The results showed that families have a very positive assessment of the program. The interviewed agree that the program is positive to fight hunger and improve their living conditions. The monetary benefits were considered or as the only income, or as support, with influence on their life quality. However, the interviewed reported that the program does not reach all the people who fit the criteria. It was consensus the perception that the work is important and indispensable for the human condition. Regarding compensation, the beneficiary families evaluated positively and stressed the importance of capacity-building activities, including a condition that allows the integration into the labor market.