Brazilian Definition of Poverty

IN BRAZIL THERE is a great variation in climate and resources. In the northeast of Brazil the conditions are often semiarid, while in the Amazon basin the jungle and the rivers provide fish and game. The resources for subsistence living are readily available in much of the country. Clothing needs are very limited. However, in the great cities, which are as modern as any on earth, there are great pockets of poverty formed by millions of people who have moved to find work and a richer life.

In Brazil one definition of poverty has been the income that is necessary to fulfill the food needs of an individual. However, another definition has been offered. It is the “minimum basket of goods” needed to fulfill all the basic needs of an individual.

The distinction between the definitions is between the indigence line, which includes only the food needs, and the poverty line, which includes all basic needs. The first definition would apply, for example, to natives along a river in the Amazon basin who wear the traditional clothing of a loincloth or a simple grass skirt, live in a palm thatched hut, sleep in a hammock, and eat what they gather from the river or forest. The second definition would apply to the millions who live in the cities and towns of Brazil. Many of these people would be the landless and impoverished.

The term poverty basket is used not only to measure poverty, but to track the costs of goods for the poor. Studies have shown that the set of household goods in the basket varies in price in different cities across Brazil. It has been found that there is a correlation between the cost of the goods and the poverty of the cities, respectively. The relationship is inverse because the poorer the city, the higher the cost of goods.

The implication is that using the poverty line basket can be misleading as an indicator of poverty. Brazil tries to adjust for the differences by using a Poverty Consumer Price Index (CPI) to weigh the two different poverty groups.

The Bolsa-Escola movement began in Brazil in the 1980s. It sees the solution to the problem of poverty as greater equity in distributing wealth rather than the creation of wealth. This means that poverty is not defined as a lack of income, but as a lack of access to essential goods and services along with adequate infrastructure. Poverty from this perspective is an ethical imperative for the haves of the world, and not an economic predilection.

Child labor is rejected as an economic solution for a family. Instead the family is given a stipend so that children can attend school. This strategy is long-term, but strikes at ignorance as one of the roots of poverty. The benefits include creating a culture of education as well as an educated workforce for the future.