LatinNews Daily - 20 October 2025

*Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has announced plans to expand the Pé-de-Meia (Piggy bank) conditional cash transfer programme, which provides grants for low-income students in state education and is conditional on exam pass rates. Speaking at a rally in São Bernardo do Campo municipality, São Paulo state, Lula was cited by state news agency Agência Brasil as saying that the programme currently funds almost 4m students, but that there are around 6m high school students who should be eligible for the benefit. He said that the financial sector “will complain” about the expansion of the programme, stating that, “they’ll say that the government is spending R$13bn [US$2.4bn] on the Pé-de-Meia, money that could stay with them…but we’re not spending – we’re investing in our population”.

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