The impact of the digitalization of welfare initiatives – a case study of the Brazilian COVID-19 emergency aid: Auxílio Emergencial

Rather than be inclusive, it has been argued that the digitalization of welfare programs can actually exclude, discriminate and even impoverish people, especially to those who are digitally illiterate and with no access to technologies. In this view, when we think about the discussions considering our post-COVID world (for which I hope that this dissertation can be a contribution), inequality and poverty could be even more exacerbated because of the expected and rapid technological improvement.

Therefore, my research proposal, situated in the Brazilian welfare policies field, is considering the question: "In what ways have automated welfare initiatives in Brazil and the strategic communications around them acted to challenge or exacerbate political and economic inequality?". For this, I will conduct a case study of "Auxílio Emergencial" a Brazilian emergency aid digitally conditional, created during the COVID-19 pandemic to minimize social and economic impacts.