85

This article offers an analysis of the development of the various legislative proposals for universal basic income introduced by the Brazilian federal legislator (and subsequently at the infra-national level) in the 1990s, and the debates behind them. It also seeks to determine why this initiative, finally adopted by the federal government in 2004, remains unimplemented to this day, in contrast with other poverty-alleviation measures promoted by the Workers’ Party, such as the Bolsa Família program.