Brazil's Least Populous City Offers Two Free Snacks Per Day

02/12/2018 - 10h37

While states are still struggling to leave the recession behind, the reality of Brazil's least populous cities is rather different. The 812 residents who live in Serra da Saudade (260 kilometers away from state capital Belo Horizonte) are allowed to eat two free snacks per day at the city hall's cafeteria.

"There's bread, butter, coffee and milk", said mayor Alaor José Machado (PT). The snacks that are offered for breakfast and in the afternoon are such a long-standing tradition that Mr. Machado, a four-time mayor, can't even recall when it began.

The public wifi is available in the town's three squares. "The password and the name of the network are nailed to the posts and walls", explained Neusa Ribeiro, one of the administration's advisers, as well as town mayor from 2009 to 2016.

These actions are a reflection of the town's budget surplus. Tiny cities have a considerable advantage when it comes to the ratio between the population and the resources that they have access to through the Municipal Participation Fund (FPM).

Various factors are used to define how funding is distributed, the main one being population. Municipalities that have up to 10,888 residents receive a coefficient of 0.6. The smaller the city, the higher the FPM revenue per capita.

Serra da Saudade has the highest FPM per capita rate in Brazil: R$ 10,600 (US$ 3,200). In São Paulo the FPM per capita rate is merely R$ 24.61 per inhabitant (US$ 7.5).

Borá, which is 488 kilometers away from São Paulo, has an FPM per capita of R$ 9,800 (US$2,900), the second largest in the country. The latest IBGE census, conducted back in 2010, revealed that the town had a population of 805.

However, according to the institute's estimates, the town gained an additional 34 residents over the past seven years. The population of Serra da Saudade, on the other hand, dropped by three: from 815 residents to 812.

Even though Borá is not facing unemployment – the town has a sugar mill that provides 1,200 residents with jobs – mayor Wilson Costa (PRB) complained about the difficulty in obtaining congressional earmarks.

"This is due to the fact that there are very few voters here", he said.

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

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