| Hello, *|NOME|* On October 30, of the more than 156 million Brazilians eligible to vote, 124 million went to the polls to elect, in the second round, the new President of the Republic and twelve governors. The elections renew hopes and provide opportunities for Brazil to advance in the economy and in the living conditions of its people. In a deeply unequal country with strong persistence in poverty and inequality, the focus on a national policy to combat poverty and promote social mobility should be an absolute priority. After a pandemic that has produced increased poverty and exposed weaknesses in our public policies, we believe this is the opportune time for the definition of a social policy that focuses on at least four pillars: - the elimination of permanent poverty in our country;
- mitigating the consequences of transient poverty due to abrupt income fluctuations;
- promoting social mobility;
- combating extreme inequalities.
The elimination of permanent poverty requires an improvement of Brazil Assistance in order to focus on income supplementation of the most needy, but should also be structurally integrated into the Happy Child Program, giving specific attention to our children in order to increase their potential for progress. The pandemic revealed that a portion of the population that until then was not the focus of any social policy, when exposed to income shock, very quickly fell into poverty, without any mechanism of protection. The emergency aid, created at the drop of a hat, revealed that it is possible (and necessary) to design structural mechanisms that act in these situations. For this reason, a broader social policy should bring integration with Social Security, with exactitudes of focus. To this extent, income guarantee insurance should also be a priority in a modernized social policy. The promotion of social mobility, a theme that has gone unnoticed in Brazilian social policies, must acquire prominence in a new and modernized design of social policy. It is the increase in social mobility, with the removal and/or reduction of factors that prevent it, which will ensure that future generations can migrate to higher income and schooling strata, reducing the risks of poverty. In this sense, the priority in the educational education of our children and young people, with quality education and continuous concern with their future productive inclusion, should guide specific programs to be developed by states and municipalities with support and encouragement from the Union. Combating extreme inequalities: social groups at extreme risks, such as young people exposed to drug addiction, violent neighborhoods and even early pregnancy should have specific programs. The Federal Government should encourage, finance, and establish basic technical requirements for states and municipalities to develop programs aimed at this public, with mandatory monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. Finally, it is crucial to establish a culture of monitoring and evaluation in the country. In this sense, it is up to the Federal Government to structure a monitoring and evaluation network with universities and research centers (public and private) that would be responsible for establishing monitoring mechanisms and performing assessments independent of each program and social policy action. These are the challenges. They are not few, they are not easy, but they are imperative. We at IMDS will continue to work hard in identifying, delineating and disseminating public programs verified as effective, seeking to continue contributing to the continuous construction of a better country for its population. See you in the next IMDS Letter! Paulo Tafner, CEO | 
