President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva launched, on Thursday (4), the Gas do Povo program, which will guarantee free cooking gas to low-income families. The program will replace the gas and It must serve about 15.5 million families.
In an event in the agglomerated community of Serra, in Belo Horizonte, Lula signed the Provisional Measure (MP) that creates the program, to be sent for appreciation of the National Congress. The MP gets into force immediately, but needs to be voted by parliamentarians in 120 days to not lose their validity.
The distribution of cylinders should start from October 30, without middlemen.
“A cylinder like this from Petrobras, with 13 pounds of gas, at $ 37. He arrives in many places at $ 150, $ 140, $ 130. It is absurd the difference between the price of Petrobras and the price that gas comes,” said Lula. The Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, also participated in the launch.
Instead of money benefit, with the new program, Each family will directly remove the gas cylinder from accredited resellers by the federal government. “Change increases efficiency, transparency and control of public policy,” the government said.
In Brazil, about 12 million households still use wood and gas combined to cook, according to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Among these, approximately 5 million are low -income families who resort to wood due to the impact of the cylinder value on the family budget.
In this sense, the government points out that the policy protects the health of the population exposed to pollution by burning biomass or the dangers of alcohol use.
The program will be fully funded with public resources, without the need for extraordinary credits. For this year, more than R $ 3.57 billion for the implementation of the people’s gas are already foreseen. For 2026, the forecast is R $ 5.1 billion.
Operation
The families registered in the Cadastro Único (CadÚnico) with monthly income will be entitled to benefit. per capita up to half a minimum wage (today at R $ 759), with priority for those who receive Bolsa Familia. Each family will be entitled to an amount of cylinders per year, according to family composition: up to three cylinders for those of two members; up to four for those with three members; and up to six annual cylinders for families with four or more members.
Today, the Northeast region concentrates the largest number of families contemplated. It is estimated that more than 7.1 million northeastern families will be served. Following are Southeast (4.4 million), North (2.1 million), South (1.1 million) and Midwest (889 thousand).
| Region | Benefited families |
| Midwest | 889 thousand |
| North East | 7.1 million |
| North | 2.1 million |
| Southeast | 4.4 million |
| South | 1.1 million |
It is expected that about 65 million cylinders will be distributed by year.
The program’s operationalization will be done in various ways:
- Through an application managed by the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Hunger Fighting (MDS), where the beneficiary can locate accredited resellers and access the electronic valley;
- With the program of the program itself that will be created;
- By printed valley to be removed at the Caixa Econômica Federal or in lottery agencies;
- With the Bolsa Familia card.
The participating resale should have standardized visual identity, with the program information.
The amount to be paid by the cylinder will be defined regionalized by the Ministries of Mines and Energy and Farm, based on data from the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP). Price differentiation per unit of the Federation considers regional variations and seeks to reduce inequalities.
“It is important to highlight that the reference price does not include the freight of delivery of cooking gas,” said the government.
