Citizenship rights improve through inclusion of more than 45 million Brazilians in the banking system

The extraordinary social inclusion promoted by the PT governments also is reflected through significant banking services inclusion gains. In just eight years of the Lula government, 45 million Brazilians — a number larger than the population of Argentina (41 million) — gained access to banking services. Since the poorest segment of the population in previous governments had virtually no income, it made no sense for them to open a checking or savings account. With higher job creation, an increase in the real value of the minimum wage, income transfer programs and other policies to reduce inequalities implemented by Lula and Dilma, maintaining a checking account began to be perfectly sensible — for organizing family finances, putting money to work, obtaining access to credit, buying through installment plans what they couldn’t purchase for cash. It is simply a matter of citizenship.

Banking inclusion of low-income households increased significantly during the Lula and Dilma governments. Between 2003 and 2010, the number of individuals with ties to a bank or credit union jumped from 70 million to 115 million. In eight years of Lula's government, the number of Brazilians with access to banking services rose, from 40% to 59%, and continued to grow in Dilma's administration (63% in late 2012). The trend is for this inclusion process to improve even more, thanks to upward social mobility driven by democratic and popular governments. In 2003, 66 million Brazilians’ per capita monthly income was between R$ 214.00 and R$ 923.00 and belonged to class C. The projection of the Getulio Vargas Foundation is that this number will reach 113 million people by 2014.