A real increase means wages rise faster than inflation, so money buys more. From 2020 to 2022 the minimum wage was adjusted only for inflation. Since 2026, people earning up to R$ 5,000 a month pay no income tax.
With the left
The minimum wage policy came back in 2023: every year the minimum wage rises by inflation plus economic growth from two years earlier (since 2025, capped at 2.5% above inflation). And since 2026, people earning up to R$ 5,000 a month pay no income tax, while those earning over R$ 600,000 a year now pay a minimum tax.
With the far right
From 2020 on, the Bolsonaro government stopped applying the real-increase rule: through 2022, the minimum wage was adjusted only for inflation. The purchasing power of those living on the minimum wage stood still. In the 2018 campaign he also promised to exempt those earning up to five minimum wages from income tax, and did not deliver.
What is at stake
Every extra real in the minimum wage reaches millions of workers and retirees, and that money goes back into neighborhood businesses.
It made the news
Not opinion: the press recorded it. Stories showing what the far right did or tried to do on this issue.
- Bolsonaro sanciona diretrizes do orçamento para 2023 sem aumento real do salário mínimoBolsonaro signed the 2023 budget guidelines with no real minimum-wage increase.Read the story
- Bolsonaro acaba com política de aumento real do salário mínimoThe 2020 budget guidelines bill ended the policy of real minimum-wage gains.Read the story
- Bolsonaro confirma salário mínimo de R$ 1.212 para 2022; será o 3º ano sem ganho realThe 2022 minimum wage only matched inflation: the third straight year with no real gain.Read the story
Sources
Where the data on this page comes from.
- Lei 14.663/2023
Law that restored the rule raising the minimum wage by inflation plus GDP growth.
- Agência Brasil
Signing of the income tax exemption up to R$ 5,000, in November 2025.
- Agência Senado
The Bolsonaro government planned the minimum wage with no real gain from 2020 on.
- Agência Brasil
Minimum wage proposal for 2022 with no real increase.