President signs Youth Statute into law

Criado em 06/08/13 10h21 e atualizado em 07/08/13 08h44
Por Heloisa Cristaldo/ Luana Lourenço Edição:Nádia Franco/ Nira Foster Fonte:Agência Brasil

Brasília – President Dilma Rousseff signed into law the Brazilian Youth Statute on Monday (August 5). The charter establishes rights for young Brazilians aged between 15 and 29. Among those rights, a quota of four seats for low-income young passengers in interstate bus services was maintained, two for free and two at half price. Those quota tickets are provided to eligible passengers on a first-come, first-served basis.

“Half fares for low-income youth is a major achievement. Many young people in Brazil are still unable to maintain a job while they pursue their studies and this has led many of them to drop out of school. The eligibility requirements for these low-income youth are the same as in other government programs”, explained Severine Macedo, the National Secretary for Youth.

The Statute establishes principles and guidelines designed to support policies for youth at federal, state and local levels.

“The Brazilian government will now be required to consider youth issues in its decision-making processes, regardless of its political positions. Now we have laws to ensure that over 51 million young peole are addressed by the government's policies,” Severine asserted.

The Youth Statute maintains provisions on half-price tickets for cultural and sporting events throughout the country for students and low-income youth. Under the law, up to 40% of the total number of tickets at such events should be available for young people. The law also ensures that young people have other rights, such as freedom in their social activities and sexual orientation

The National Students' Union and the National Council for Youth, consider the enactment of the Youth Statute a milestone after nearly ten years of debates in Congress. The two organizations stressed the key role played by the “voice of the streets” in highlighting the value of youth. This was a reference to the recent protests by thousands of youths. Among their grievances was a demands for lower public transport fares.

*With additional reporting by Mariana Tokarnia

Edition: Nádia Franco/ Nira Foster
Translation: Mayra Borges