Between 2001 and 2011, GDP per capita increased by 29% and the poorest 20% of people saw their income grow seven times as fast as the top 20%. Brazil also reduced by half the number of people living in poverty - in half the time expected. In this chapter, the man at the helm of this remarkable transformation - Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva - explains how this was enabled by a democratic decision to put social policy at the heart of the country’s development strategy. The flagship Bolsa Familia (Family Stipend) programme transferred cash to low-income households in exchange for enrolling children in school and ensuring regular medical check-ups and vaccinations (conditional cash transfers). The programme has benefitted an entire generation by helping to break the vicious circle of poverty.