One of President-elect Lula's (PT) campaign proposals is to readjust the minimum wage. Now the PT team wants to reinforce this correction even further, in the first year of its mandate. 

According to information gathered by Folha de S. Paulo, the national minimum value could reach R$ 1,319, which represents an increase of R$ 17 in relation to the value of the Budget sent to the National Congress by the Bolsonaro government.

To bear the cost of even greater appreciation than that discussed above, around R$ 6.4 billion will be needed, which must be included in a PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) that allows additional spending without exceeding the spending ceiling. 

The maintenance of Auxílio Brasil in the amount of R$ 600 will also be addressed through this proposal.

Lula has been talking about readjusting the minimum wage since the beginning of the election campaign. The idea is to encourage an adjustment based on GDP (Gross Domestic Product) data in addition to the inflation rate currently used.

If this is applied, the minimum wage in 2023 could be adjusted by 1.3% above inflation.

Today, despite the annual adjustment of the national minimum wage, the calculation only takes into account the previous year's inflation, so that the increase in value does not bring any real profit to workers, as it only serves to cover inflation.

Since 2019, Brazilians have not had a real income from the minimum wage.

For next year, according to the budget presented by Bolsonaro to Congress, the minimum amount would also not bring real gains. Based on the document, this value would likely be R$ 1,302 in the year 2023. 

Furthermore, with the drop in inflation in recent months, the value could be even lower if only the inflation rate was considered to correct the floor.

The transition PEC, which addresses these issues of the minimum wage and other expenses to implement President-elect Lula's campaign promises, was negotiated by the transition team last Thursday, the 3rd.

See more: