In a new controversial statement, one of several he has made this week that have rocked the Brazilian political and economic climate, Lula da Silva told a young mother who receives government support through social programs that the first step to improving her life is to give up children. The statement, which exposed the young woman and had very bad consequences, was made in Fortaleza, the capital of the state of Ceará, where Lula rented popular housing to needy families.
“Look at this girl who comes here with three children. This girl is 25 years old and has three children. I told her, my daughter, the first thing you need to do is stop having children,” Brazil’s increasingly controversial president said. , who at 78 seems to have left behind any filter once and for all and who even provoked diplomatic incidents with his statements during his third presidential term, which began on January 1 last year.
Lula did not seem to realize the embarrassment he had caused the young woman, who receives about 103 euros a month from Bolsa Família, the central government’s main social programme, and continued in a very informal tone. At one point, Lula even called Carlos António Vieira, president of Caixa Económica Federal, CEF, Brazil’s largest bank and social housing financier, “fat” when inviting him to speak.
This is the second time in less than a month that Lula da Silva has told needy women who depend on government assistance to stop having children if they want to improve their lives. In May, Lula asked another young mother, this time 27, at another public ceremony: “When are you going to close the gate, comrade? If you want to escape poverty, you will no longer be able to have children.”