The Brazilian Presidency’s Social Communication Office (SECOM) recently circulated a 78-page booklet of public policy highlights associated with President Dilma Roussef’s administration.
Here are a few highlighted policy numbers and other outcomes are worth noting:
1. The number of international immigrants increased from 143,600 between 1995 and 2000 to 286,500 between 2005 and 2010. Of these, 65.1% were Brazilians returning from abroad. Between 1995 and 2000 this percentage was 61.2%. United States (25%), Japan (20%) and Paraguay (12%) are the main countries of origin of international immigrants (page 8).
2. Family Grant or bolsa familia: the number of beneficiaries reached 13.5 million families in May 2012, with funds corresponding to 0.46% of GDP. The average benefit increased from R$ 97 to R$ 134 between 2010 and 2012, a 38% adjustment resulting from the improvements promoted by the Brazil without Extreme Poverty Plan (page 13)
3. In 18 months PAC 2 invested R$ 324.2 billion, 34% of the total planned until 2014. The program hit a new record in the first half of 2012: R$ 119.9 billion were invested, 39% more than in the same period of 2011 (page 16).
4. Two years after its inception, the National Broadband Program (Programa Nacional de Banda Larga) shows excellent results. Increased access: the number of fixed and mobile internet access increased 157%, from 28.4 million in May 2010 to 73.0 million in April 2012. Reduced prices: by April 2012, 1,396 municipalities had Internet connection at R$ 35 per month. The connections speed is one megabit per second (page 19).
5. BASIC HEALTH UNITS (UBS)
In June 2012, 3,966 basic health units were under construction, 5,247 were being remodeled and 5,458 had been expanded with funds from the UBS Upgrading Program. Besides these, the selection of projects for the expansion of more than 5,000 units around the country and the remodeling of an additional 46 units in nine states has also been authorized. In May 2012, there were 33,663 basic health units in the country, a 7.8% increase over 2011 (page 31).
6. 1.8 million housing units commissioned across Brazil under the My House, My Life (Minha Casa, Minha Vida - PMCMV) Program. MORE THAN 830,000 HOUSING UNITS DELIVERED
• Of the 1.804,133 housing units commissioned by June 30, 2012, in the two phases of the program, 830,000 have already been delivered (46% of the total).
• Of the total number of units commissioned since 2009, 734,581 (40.7%) were to low-income families (page 44).
7. The rate of Amazon deforestation between August 2010 and July 2011 was the lowest since the first measuring carried out by the National Institute for Space Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais – INPE) in 1988. The 6418 km2-long area deforested in the period is 76.9% smaller than that recorded in 2004, when the Plan of Action to Prevent and Control Deforestation in the Amazon (Plano de Ação para Prevenção e Controle do Desmatamento na Amazônia Legal - PPCDAM) was established (page 55).
8. Tourism activities in Brazil grew 6% in 2011, twice the world average, ensuring the country the sixth place among the largest tourism economies in the world (page 61).
For a quick review of President Dilma’s perspective on governance,
see Mark S. Langevin’s virtual interview in the Globalist.