Brazil's Anti-Hunger Plan Falls Short of Expectations
By ADALID CABRERA LEMUZ | Associated Press 02/01/2003 Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks at a ceremony in Brasilia Thursday, where he launched his anti-hunger program. The program will provide $14 a month to 1.5 million families. - AP |
BRASILIA, Brazil — The government's long—awaited plan to eradicate hunger in Brazil has triggered a hail of criticism that it's vague, timid and flawed.
The "Zero Hunger" program, announced Thursday by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, fell short of expectations. Only seven of the expected 60 measures were announced, although the government said the rest would come later.
Even Silva seemed to sense that something was missing. A fiery orator, he announced the plan in a subdued speech that drew only polite applause from an audience of 500 politicians and celebrities.
Many expected a more concrete plan from Silva, Brazil's first elected leftist president. At his Jan. 1 inauguration, Silva said his top priority was to eradicate hunger among the estimated 46 million Brazilians - nearly 40 percent of the population - who survive on less than US$1 (3.50 reals) a day.
"The war on hunger is still on paper because no battle fronts were identified, just objectives without specific goals," political analyst Franklin Martins said Friday on the CBN radio network.
Martins said Silva had essentially outlined broad targets such as improving health, education and sanitation "but he didn't say how he plans to achieve them."
Specifically, Silva promised to double funds for school lunches for children aged 4 to 6.
He also pledged to provide $14 (50 reals) a month to 1.5 million families. The first payments are to start next week to 1,000 poor families in Guaribas and Acaua, in the arid northeastern state of Piaui.
But critics questioned how the money will be distributed. Some families will get a kind of debit card to draw funds from a government bank, while others, in the remote interior, will receive coupons similar to food stamps.
Jose Graziano, the federal secretary of food security, said the coupons will be good for almost anything except tobacco, alcohol or soft drinks, and families must produce some kind of proof of purchase.
The demand to ask poor people for receipts would only add another layer of bureaucracy and produce no real gain, Zilda Arns, the chairwoman of the Children's Pastoral group - a respected church group helping poor children - and a member of the new National Council of Food Security, told television cameras.
The government's requirement was not meant to be a control mechanism, but rather an educational measure to direct people on how to use their assistance money in the most efficient way, Graziano said in an interview with O Globo television Friday.
Graziano added that the government intends to give women the role of controlling the program to prevent fraud. "In Guaribas, for example, there are already mothers controlling merchants. We have to believe that this works out," he said.
Yet, it also was unclear how the government would decide who's eligible for the program.
Guaribas Mayor Joao Santos said only about half the town's families would qualify for the program, adding that what the region really needed was more jobs.
Joao Pedro Stedile, a leader of the Landless Rural Workers Movement, said radical changes in Brazil's market-oriented economy were required to end hunger.
"A declaration of good intentions won't resolve hunger," said Stedile, a long-time supporter of Silva.
The program also has received some 3 tons of donated food, but it's not clear how the donations will be collected, stored and distributed. Graziano said details would be worked out later.
"A lot isn't clear," admitted Katia Maia, a public policy advocate for the anti-poverty group Oxfam International. "But it's a long-term project, and this is a big step forward."