Resumen

The adoption of the 1988 constitution marked a landmark in the history of the Brazilian social security system by introducing a universal social security model grounded in citizenship rights. The Constitution sets out the State’s responsibility in organizing and legislating social security. This should be done according to principles of universality of protection, adequacy of benefits and with the objective of ensuring the uniformity and equivalence of benefits and services for urban and rural populations. In the last few decades, Brazil has taken bold steps to build and maintain a comprehensive social protection system that reinforces basic social rights.  Of notable example is the legislation of programmes to assist families in overcoming hunger and poverty.