Lula announced the program for the people he defined as "the most suffering people" of
of society.   Photo taken from Prensa Mercosur

By Roberto Morejón 

Homeless Brazilians, whose numbers have grown exponentially, may have a hope of having their needs met thanks to a plan presented by President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva.

In another sign of the Head of State's interest in following up on the most acute social problems accentuated during the term of office of the ultra-right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, the "Visible Streets Plan" was presented in Brazil.

This is not a marginal issue, since almost 282 thousand people live homeless in Brazil, according to estimates of the Institute of Applied Economic Research.

According to the source, this is an increase of 211 percent in a decade, since in 2021 there were almost 91 thousand homeless people.

The causes are already known. In the first place, the economic factor due to the lack of monetary income or employment, in addition to the rise of informality and high poverty.

President Lula and the ruling Workers' Party are not unaware of the situation and have advocated the presentation of initiatives, such as the aforementioned guideline.

A sign of the government's concern for the urgent needs of the homeless is that Lula announced the program for the people he defined as "the most suffering people" of society.

"The Planalto Palace has been visited by princes, queens, presidents and businessmen, but it has rarely been open to the participation of the most suffering people", the dignitary eloquently remarked.

He alluded to the fact that he personally received dozens of people in what is called street situations, among whose causes he cited that the State has not dedicated itself to take care of the poorest.

Many of them, today out in the open, hope that the official plan will facilitate their access to popular residency programs already in place, although the number of municipal shelters will be expanded.

The intention contrasts with the blunder and forgetfulness of the Bolsonaro era, who vetoed a law banning so-called architecture hostile to the homeless, although Congress subsequently overturned it.

Many Brazilians highlight that the step taken by the government is part of a scenario where the creation of public housing for people with more modest incomes has been absent in recent years.

And they praise the fact that now, also in the executive branch, they are thinking of providing temporary spaces for those who are begging for help in the streets.