Brazil Accelerates Bolsa Família Payments Ahead of El Niño Risks

Brazil's social development ministry announced on October 19 that most remaining October Bolsa Família payments will be brought forward to October 21 as a precaution against expected El Niño effects on vulnerable households. Beneficiaries whose social identification numbers end in 1 will receive payments on October 19, those ending in 2 on October 20, and all other endings on October 21. The consolidated arrangement will also apply in November and December, though the ministry did not specify those months' dates. Families in municipalities with federally recognized emergencies or public calamities can receive their October payments together on October 19.