Brasília, May 19, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - The economic situation of Brazilian families has gotten a lot worse since 1975. At that time families spent 79.86% of their monthly income to maintain themselves; in 2003 this percentage was up to 93.26%. As a result, very little of what they earn is left over for investments, for example, to buy a home. The tax burden on family budgets more than doubled, from 5.27% in 1975 to 10.85% in 2003.

Whereas back then families could apply 16.5% of their monthly income on investments, this percentage dropped to only 4.76% in 2003, according to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics' (IBGE) Family Budget Survey (POF 2002-2003).

In Brasília cattle rancher Leon Santos said he believes that there has been "an impoverishment of the middle and lower classes." In his opinion it has become more and more difficult and expensive to buy basic products. "One begins first by eliminating superfluous items, but now necessary items are being cut, too."

The study released by the IBGE shows that the structure of family expenses was drastically modified between 1975 and 2003. As a percentage of total expenses, current outlays rose 13.40%, from 79.86% in 1975 to 93.26% in 2003. Consumption, which accounted for 74.59% of total expenses in 1975, was up to 82.41% in 2003.

In the opinion of shopkeeper Karina Almeida, from Brasília, the increase in prices messes up people's personal budgets. "Electricity, telephone calls, the supermarket, etc., which are the basics, are increasing in price, and salaries, in general, are not keeping up."

Translator: David Silberstein