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This article analyzes where Brazilians stand in relation to the Bolsa Família Program (BFP) and its beneficiaries. The data are from a national public opinion survey commissioned by The Secretariat for Social Communication of the Presidency of the Republic (Secom/PR). The results of a multinomial logistic regression regarding the chances that people will support the BFP have shown that support grows among those with more positive evaluations of the federal government and higher levels of information about the program, as well as among those connected to or in contact with beneficiaries; support wanes depending on schooling and family income, not to mention the individualism of the interviewees. Ambivalences appear when the analyses turn to opinions on the management of Bolsa Família and its beneficiaries. OLS regressions, estimated to assess the opinions on the positive impacts of the BFP and the alleged lack of regulation of and control over the program and its beneficiaries, have shown that more knowledge about the program does not diminish negative views of the beneficiaries or management and oversight of the program. Surprisingly, these critical views are present even among those groups of people most likely to receive Bolsa Família resources, such as the less educated, people of color, and residents of the Northeast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much has been said about the role of "Bolsa Família" in the Presidential election of Lula in 2006 and the change of his voter profile. However, little has been said about the effects of Lula's support and "Bolsa Família" on Dilma's electoral performance in the 2010 Presidential elections. Using a spatial econometrics's approach in this paper we evaluate the importance of these (and other) factors on Dilma and her opponents' electoral performance in the 1st round of 2010 elections. It is interesting to understand what factors had more weight on her previous election and how this can be seen in the light of the current scenario. Aggregated data at the municipality level are used in the analysis, considering variables such as candidates' share of total votes and socioeconomics indicators (per capita income, proportion of beneficiaries of "Bolsa Família", percentage of poor, rate of illiteracy, among others). The results indicate a decisive participation of former President Lula and the Bolsa Família Program. Even controlling for Lula's share of votes in the previous election, the "Bolsa Família" Program remains significant for Dilma's election. The Lula's effects, however, was larger than the one found for the Program. It is worth noting that this results in line with the one indicated by Zucco (2013), in the sense that the "Bolsa Família" shows positive short run electoral effects, helping the incumbent party, but shows no long run effects, with the loyalties to parties and/or persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geographic pattern of Lula's vote swings between 2002 and 2006 presidential elections is one of the most intriguing political phenomenon of Brazilian recent history. Several studies show that the program "Bolsa Família" increased considerably Lula's support among the poor, having a crucial role on the 2006 electoral results. In this article, I analyze a municipal-level data set and use spatial econometrics techniques to show that Lula's electoral performance is also negatively associated with the proportion of the rich. My claim is that the program explains both effects: the poor responded to improvements in their material living conditions and the rich responded to opportunity costs of public investments that did not benefit them directly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is about perceptions of Brazilian society concerning the cash transfer program Bolsa Família of Brazilian government obtained in a national survey. It indicated that population recognizes the program and understands that it is being used in an appropriated way, even though considering problems in its execution. Important differences occurred in the opinion of those who knew beneficiaries comparing with those who didn't. The first group manifested positive opinion and criticized less then the second. The paper concludes that the program acquired legitimacy in the Brazilian society, considering the knowledge of this policy and supporting its existence. It argues for the importance of searching and considering the public opinion as a fundamental element of public policy assessing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the impact of being a Family Grant Program beneficiary in vote choice for President in the 2006 elections and in Lula da Silva's government evaluations. Therefore, the article contributes to the growing literature on how social programs affect voting behaviour in Brazil. However, differently from all other studies, we use individual level data from the AmericasBarometer 2008 Brazilian round, and multivariate statistical analysis to test our hypotheses. Results indicate that being a recipient of the Family Grant Program positively affects vote for Lula and his administration's evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The voting of Lula in 2006 excited hypotheses on the repercussion of the public politics of the first mandate in the electoral results. The social programs of direct transference of income, in special the "Bolsa Família", had been associates to the great growth of its voting in the cities poor of the north and northeast. We use concepts and methods of modern electoral geography to inquire which the participation of the "Bolsa Família" in this geographic change. The results show a new standard in the space distribution of the votes of Lula, confirming that he still receives the support from its previous bases, but disclose that the regional blocks of cities of high voting in 2002 had lost the cohesion in 2006, becoming more vulnerable. The results confirm the participation of the "Bolsa Família" on the local income was a determinative one of the new contour of the electoral-geographic basis, and the factor of big weight in the explanation of the municipal voting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]