Catalina Gomez, Rio de Janeiro Community Manager
In recent years, Brazil has become an international point of reference with respect to social policies and programs, given its significant improvements in poverty alleviation and in generating greater opportunities for low-income populations. Programs like Bolsa Familia, the conditional cash transfer that currently benefits 13 million families, and the Food Acquisition Program, which has contributed to reducing food insecurity through the promotion of family agriculture initiatives, are key interventions that many countries are interested in learning from, with the intention of implementing them in their own contexts.
In order to support technical cooperation among countries and to promote Brazil’s experience in social protection policies and programs, the Ministry of Social Development, the country’s leading agency in poverty eradication efforts, arranges a series of meetings and field visits for various policy-makers from all around the world. The MDS provides in-depth information regarding Bolsa Familia’s legislation and key features, such as the unified registry system of social programs and the innovative implementation scheme that relies heavily on municipalities. For the Food Acquisition Program, the MDS shares various models for promoting family agriculture schemes in remote areas.
Currently, most of the demand for technical assistance comes from African countries, and both the Bolsa Familia and the Food Acquisition Program are of particular interest to policy makers in this region. Tereza Campello, Brazil’s Minister of Social Development, recently mentioned in Addis Abba during the “Unified Approach to End Hunger in Africa by 2025” seminar that “South-South cooperation and African countries have priority for Brazil’s technical support.” For this reason, the MDS is partnering with the Instituto Lula (led by former President Lula) in supporting high-level policy exchanges and technical assistance with African countries. For example, there is already a “Food Acquisition Program Africa” that is being piloted in Niger, Malawi, Mozambique, Senegal, and Ethiopia, all with the technical support of the Brazilian government and financing from the World Food Program.
For technical assistance in the design and implementation of cash transfers, many countries have expressed interest not only in understanding the national conditions of these schemes, but also in their implementation characteristics and challenges at the local level (municipalities/cities). That is why Rio de Janeiro periodically welcomes delegations interested in implementing poverty eradication programs. They are particularly interested in Rio because of its innovative approaches to implementing such schemes in a context of violence, and also because of Rio’s complimentary interventions focused on improving infrastructure, housing, and transportation in low-income areas.
Brazil was once a recipient of financial aid and of technical support, but is now an important “exporter” of social policy expertise. The country has become so influential in the social policy debate that it is not only advising in “South-South” contexts, but also in “South-North” discussions, as delegations from Sweden and the US have demonstrated interest in Brazil’s social policies. Additionally, both Mexico and Brazil were called by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to advise on the design and the implementation of a cash transfer program for low-income populations. With collaborations of this type, we may be reaching a pivotal moment in the dynamics of technical cooperation among nations and cities.
Photo credit: Instituto Lula