Brazil: Social & Economic Justice Brazil started the year 2020 with declining socioeconomic indexes, with increasing income
inequality and greater concentration at the top: the richest 10% of the country reaching an
income 13 times higher than the poorest 40%. Black people and women, who constitute most of
the base of the Brazilian social pyramid, continue to be the most affected in this context.

An important portion of thisscenario is due to the impacts of the economic austerity policy
adopted in Brazil from 2015, which reached its peak with the approval of 2016 Constitutional
Amendment #95 (EC95), known as the "Budget Ceiling" Amendment, which froze the real public
spending for twenty years. Dubbed the world's strictest austerity measure, the EC95, by
constitutionalizing a deliberately regressive view, stripped the ability of future elected
governments without an absolute majority in Congress to determine the extent of social
investments.

As of March 2020, the impacts of the pandemic were felt. Millions of jobs were decimated and
hundreds of thousands of companies closed during this period, because of the insufficiency of
state policies in response to the coronavirus, based on a denial and lenientview of the health
crisis by the government of Jair Bolsonaro. The most important measure adopted in the period, a
broad income transfer program called emergency aid (Auxílio Emergencial), was approved after
the influence of civil society and action by the National Congress, taking advantage of the
adoption of an exceptional budget model resulting from the pandemic. Benefiting more than 67
million people, with public investment of around USD 58.4 billion (4% of Brazil's GDP), the
emergency aid contributed to the poverty rate in Brazil falling to 4.5% of the population in August
2020, down from 11% at the end of 2019.

Brazil started 2021 diving in a new sanitary crisis during the first quarter, combined with the
interruption of the Emergency Income benefit, leaving millions of people without income, job or
safe conditions to thrive during the hardest time of the pandemic. With the end of the
differentiated budget model and the late renewal of emergency aid – even so with lower values
and less coverage – the pro-economic austerity mentalityreturned at full steam, even with the
pandemic at its worst in the country, due to catastrophic federal management and delays in the
Covid-19 immunization program. In March 2021, we launched a survey report showing that 55% of
the population of Brazil was in a situation of food insecurity (116.8 million Brazilians) and 9% in a
situation of hunger (19.1 million Brazilians), causing for the country to revert to the scenario seen
in 2004.

This concerning scenario means that preventing setbacks is a success, working to safeguard rights means victory. There is quite a lot of space to dispute policy within Congress and the hearts and minds of Brazilians, since the pandemic has stressed out the economy and the most vulnerable groups are paying a high price at the same time asopposing narratives on the Covid-
19 pandemic are under debate. This is where Oxfam Brazil will need to seek changes.

Oxfam Brazil will work on 3 main sub-projects:
I. Fiscal Justice: OBR active participation on the tax reform public debate, focusingon influence the Congress proposals (Constitutional Amendment), this is an ongoing discussion started in 2019.
a. Activities:
i. Monitor and participate in the National Congress’ debate on the Tax Reform.
ii. Build dialogue with parliamentarians and other stakeholders to influence the Tax Reform approval.
iii. Raise awareness and mobilize the Brazilian society to pressure the National Congress for a fairer Tax Reform.
iv. Produce and publish quality analysis around Tax Reform strategic issues.
v. Support new initiatives with partner organizationsand coalitions.
b. Objectives:
i. Increase influence on policymakers for a progressive tax reform.
ii. Put Oxfam Brasil at a more direct influencing position on fiscal issues and inequality.
iii. MakeOxfam Brasil a recognized voice to counter the current government’s liberal agenda narrative and policy proposals.

II. Social and Economic Justice and Democracy in Brazil: Brazil will face the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country for a longtime, adding new and important influencing agendas to tackle inequalities in the country, such as the return of hunger, increase in poverty and inequality levels, as well as the ongoing threats on its democratic institutions and the reduction of civic spacebecause of authoritarian measures from the federal government.
a. Activities:
i. Monitor and influence the Basic Income agenda and social protection programs, including cash transfer policies (e.g., Bolsa Familia)
ii. Monitor and raise awareness aboutthe escalation of hunger in the country and its interconnections with gender and racial inequalities.
iii. Research and publish quality analysis about the importance to elect members of sub-represented and socially marginalizedgroups, like black peopleandwomen, during the 2022 Brazilian Elections.
iv. Launch a 2nd edition of the survey on hunger during thepandemic
v. Produce videos, infographics, and social media materials.
vi. Support the work of partner organizations and coalitions.
b. Objectives:
i. Highlight the importance of linkage between democracy and inequalities.
ii. Mobilize a significant number of Brazilians to support a fairer political representation.
iii. Contribute to strengthen public policies designed to tackle hunger andpoverty
iv. Make Oxfam Brazil a reference in public discussion about the impact of inequality on democracy quality.

III. Inequality reports and Influencing Work: Having the Brazilian society aware of and engaged in the fight against inequalities in Brazil isaparamount objective of Oxfam Brasil. To achieve this purpose, OBR produce first-hand data towards its inequality
reports: (i) Brazilian Report on Inequalities – 4th edition: This is the most important product of the SEJ area of OBR. The fourthedition will focus on the consequences of the dismantling of social public policies and the impact of the economic austerity policy on the guarantee of basic rights in Brazil, trying to connect the inequality debate with the need to strengthening social protection programs. The report is planned to be published in March 2022; and (ii) Inequalities and Us: Perceptions on the Inequalities in Brazil – 4th edition: This report will present the results of its fourth national-wide opinion survey with DatafolhaInstitute. The data are intended to contribute to the public debate on reducing inequalities in Brazil based on people’s perception about them. In addition, Oxfam Brasil will keep contributing to Oxfam’s Davos report.
a. Activities:
i. Contribute to the 2022Davos report.
ii. Elaborate and launch of OBR’ Brazilian Report on Inequalities, focused on the importance of social protection programs.
iii. Produce and launch of the 4th edition of the “Inequalities and Us” report, in partnership with Datafolha, about whatthe Brazilians think about inequalities.
b. Objectives:
i. Raise international awareness about Brazil’s situation regarding the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
ii. Reinforce the inequality narrative, now relating the importanceof social protection programs to it and government’s responsibilities to promote social development as a priority in the recovery process.
iii. Evaluate Brazil’s public perception about inequalities.