between and gdp per capita increased by and the poorest of people saw their income grow seven times as fast as the top 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 lowincome households in exchange for enrolling children in school and ensuring regular medical checkups and vaccinations conditional cash transfers the programme has benefitted an entire generation by helping to break the vicious circle of poverty