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Public policy

Minimum wage appreciation policy

Problem
From 2003 to 2010, each new minimum wage value was set by its own provisional measure; according to DIEESE, the appreciation policy was applied without being in law until the 2011 value. According to the Statement of Reasons of MP 1,172/2023, the minimum wage went without a real adjustment in recent years.
Who it serves
According to the Statement of Reasons of MP 474/2009, based on the 2008 PNAD, about 27.5 million formal and informal workers who earned up to one minimum wage and about 18.4 million people with a social security or assistance benefit equivalent to up to one minimum wage, approximately 45.9 million people.
How it works
Adjustment by the change in the INPC plus a real increase equal to the real GDP growth rate of two years earlier. The rule was proposed in PL 1/2007, authored by the Executive Branch, which did not become law; according to DIEESE, until January 2011 the adjustments followed the criteria of the December 2006 Protocol of Intent between the union confederations and the federal government, by means of provisional measures. According to a text from the Senate Consultancy, a joint committee of Congress, with Senator Paulo Paim as rapporteur, suggested in 2006 a permanent appreciation policy. The rule was in law from 2012 to 2015 (Law 12,382/2011) and from 2016 to 2019 (Law 13,152/2015) and has been in force since 2024 under Law 14,663/2023, which provides for adjustment by the INPC only if GDP is negative; from 2025 to 2030, Law 15,077/2024, resulting from a bill by Deputy José Guimarães, limits the real increase to the indices of art. 5 of LC 200/2023. The 2020 value was based on the change in the INPC; for 2021 and 2022, according to the statements of reasons, the values corresponded to the change in the INPC.

Labor and wagesIncome and social protection

Relation to the Lula governments

Continued under Lula · First term (2003 to 2006) · from 2003 to 2006

Provisional Measure No. 116 of April 2, 2003, signed by Lula, set the minimum wage at R$240.00 as of April 1, 2003, after applying eighteen percent as an adjustment and one and six hundred ninety-five thousandths percent as a real increase on R$200.00. It was converted into Law No. 10,699 of July 9, 2003.[1]

Provisional Measure No. 182 of April 29, 2004 set the minimum wage at R$260.00 as of May 1, 2004, on top of the value of R$240.00, with percentages as an adjustment and as a real increase. It was converted into Law No. 10,888 of June 24, 2004. The Statement of Reasons reports an INPC of 7.0181% (April 2003 to April 2004) and a real gain of 1.2280%, and justifies the change of the date to May 1 by aligning it with the base date of social security benefits.[2]

Provisional Measure No. 248 of April 20, 2005 set the minimum wage at R$300.00 as of May 1, 2005, after 6.355% as an adjustment and 8.49% as a real increase on R$260.00. It was converted into Law No. 11,164 of August 18, 2005.[3]

Provisional Measure No. 288 of March 30, 2006 set the minimum wage at R$350.00 as of April 1, 2006, after applying the change in the INPC from May 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006, as an adjustment, and a percentage as a real increase (no number in the norm), on R$300.00. It was converted into Law No. 11,321 of July 7, 2006.[4]

Reshaped under Lula · First term (2003 to 2006) · from 2005 to 2006

An unnumbered Decree of April 20, 2005, signed by Lula, established within the Ministry of Labor and Employment the Quadripartite Commission, of an advisory nature, to propose a program to strengthen the minimum wage and analyze its impacts on the labor market, Social Security, and assistance policies. The commission brought together ministries, six workers' confederations (CUT, CGT, Força Sindical, SDS, CAT, and CGTB), employers' confederations, and retirees' organizations.[5]

The official statements of reasons for PL 1/2007 and MP 362/2007 state that the new proposed value for the minimum wage (and, in the case of the PL, the guidelines for its appreciation policy) was the subject of various studies and broad discussion, culminating in the signing of a Protocol of Intent between the Federal Government and the union confederations on December 27, 2006.[6]

Reshaped under Lula · Second term (2007 to 2010) · from 2007 to 2010

Bill No. 1/2007 "provides for the value of the minimum wage from 2007 and establishes guidelines for its appreciation policy from 2008 to 2023." Under the text, from 2008 to 2011 the adjustments would be applied on March 1, 2008, February 1, 2009, and January 1, 2010 and 2011, by the accumulated variation of the INPC, plus, as a real increase, the real GDP growth rate of 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, respectively.[7]

In EMI No. 001/MTE/MF/MP/MPS of January 15, 2007, which accompanies PL No. 1/2007, the signatory ministers (Marco Antonio de Oliveira, Nelson Machado, Guido Mantega, and Paulo Bernardo Silva) explain that the bill provides, from 2008 to 2011, for annual adjustments in March 2008, February 2009, January 2010, and January 2011, by the INPC variation accumulated over eleven months, plus the real GDP growth rate determined, respectively, in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, with the stated objective of gradually restoring the real value of the minimum wage.[8]

In the statements of reasons for the annual measures of the second term, the ministries describe the index applied as follows: 2007 (MP 362), estimate of the accumulated INPC variation from May 2006 to March 2007, plus the real increase, with no percentage; 2008 (MP 421), estimated accumulated INPC variation from April 2007 to February 2008 and a percentage as a real increase, without citing GDP; 2009 (MP 456), a percentage as a real increase corresponding to real GDP growth in 2007; 2010 (MP 474), accumulated INPC variation from February 2009 to December 2009, with December estimated by the Ministry of Finance, plus a real increase corresponding to 5.64%.[9]

Shared implementation · Second term (2007 to 2010) · from 2007 to 2010

PL No. 1/2007 (in the Senate, PLC No. 42/2007, authored by the Presidency of the Republic) was approved by the Senate floor with an amendment and sent back to the Chamber of Deputies on April 17, 2008. In the Chamber, the status recorded in the open data is "Ready for Agenda," with the last action in 2018 (a request for inclusion in the Order of the Day). It did not become law.[10]

Resumed under Lula · Third term (since 2023) · since 2023

For 2020, Law No. 14,013 of June 10, 2020 (conversion of MP No. 919/2020) set the minimum wage at R$1,039.00 in January and R$1,045.00 from February 1, 2020. The statements of reasons for MPs 916/2019 and 919/2020 say that the values start from the INPC variation in the period from January to December 2019 and incorporate compensation for the difference between the INPC variation that actually occurred in December 2018 and the estimate used beforehand.[11]

Law No. 14,663 of August 28, 2023 (conversion of MP No. 1,172/2023), signed by Lula, set the minimum wage at R$1,320.00 from May 1, 2023 and "establishes the permanent minimum wage appreciation policy to be in effect from January 1, 2024": the value results from the sum of the previous year's inflation index and the real GDP growth index of two years earlier, applied on January 1 of each year.[12]

Reshaped under Lula · Third term (since 2023) · since 2024

Law No. 15,077 of December 27, 2024 (which amends public policy laws, including LOAS and Bolsa Família), establishes in art. 4 that, between 2025 and 2030, the real increase referred to in paragraph 4 of art. 3 of Law No. 14,663/2023 will be neither lower than the minimum index nor higher than the index actually determined under art. 5 of Complementary Law No. 200/2023 (New Fiscal Framework).[13]

Origin and precursors

Origin milestone: institutional document, First term (2003 to 2006).

The official statements of reasons for PL 1/2007 and MP 362/2007 state that the new proposed value for the minimum wage (and, in the case of the PL, the guidelines for its appreciation policy) was the subject of various studies and broad discussion, culminating in the signing of a Protocol of Intent between the Federal Government and the union confederations on December 27, 2006.[6]

Precursors

  • Annual adjustments with real increases before 2003 (Law 10,525/2002) similar initiative, no succession stated by the source Law No. 10,525 of August 6, 2002 (the conversion of MP No. 35/2002) set the minimum wage at R$200.00 as of April 1, 2002, after applying nine and forty-seven hundredths percent as an adjustment and one and fifty hundredths percent as a real increase on R$180.00. The law does not establish an adjustment rule for the following years.[14]
  • Quadripartite Commission on the minimum wage (2005) earlier technical basis An unnumbered Decree of April 20, 2005, signed by Lula, established within the Ministry of Labor and Employment the Quadripartite Commission, of an advisory nature, to propose a program to strengthen the minimum wage and analyze its impacts on the labor market, Social Security, and assistance policies. The commission brought together ministries, six workers' confederations (CUT, CGT, Força Sindical, SDS, CAT, and CGTB), employers' confederations, and retirees' organizations.[5]
  • Special Joint Commission on the Minimum Wage of the National Congress (2005 to 2006) earlier technical basis According to a Discussion Paper of the Senate Legislative Consultancy Study Center (No. 79, October 2010, Edvaldo Fernandes), Joint Act No. 3 of October 25, 2005, from the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate created the Special Joint Commission on the Minimum Wage, with Senator Paulo Paim as rapporteur; the final report, of October 4, 2006, suggested a permanent appreciation policy, with an annual increase equal to inflation as measured by the INPC plus twice the real GDP variation of the previous year.[15]

Precursor investigation: inconclusive (October 14, 2026).

Scope: Minimum wage rules at the Planalto from 2002 to 2026 (MPs, laws, decrees and statements of reasons), PL 1/2007 (Chamber of Deputies) and PLC 42/2007 (Senate), Senate Discussion Paper 79 (joint commission of 2005 to 2006). The text of the 2006 protocols with the union confederations was not located; the signing on December 27, 2006 appears in the statements of reasons.

Responsibilities

  • Presidency of the Republic (provisional measures and value decrees) design

    Provisional Measure No. 116 of April 2, 2003, signed by Lula, set the minimum wage at R$240.00 as of April 1, 2003, after applying eighteen percent as an adjustment and one and six hundred ninety-five thousandths percent as a real increase on R$200.00. It was converted into Law No. 10,699 of July 9, 2003.[1]

  • National Congress (conversion of MPs and laws setting the multiyear rule) legislative approval

    The statements of reasons for MPs No. 288/2006 and No. 362/2007 justify the urgency of the provisional measure by the fact that the National Congress did not approve in time the bill sent by the Executive Branch. In 2004, Law No. 10,888 was promulgated by the President of the Board of the National Congress, José Sarney, after the National Congress approved Provisional Measure No. 182 of 2004, adopted by the President of the Republic.[16]

  • Union confederations (protocols with the federal government) social participation

    The official statements of reasons for PL 1/2007 and MP 362/2007 state that the new proposed value for the minimum wage (and, in the case of the PL, the guidelines for its appreciation policy) was the subject of various studies and broad discussion, culminating in the signing of a Protocol of Intent between the Federal Government and the union confederations on December 27, 2006.[6]

Timeline

Timeline of Minimum wage appreciation policy
DatePhaseWhat happened
2003Legal actMinimum wage adjustment by provisional measure (MP 116/2003).[1]
October 2005AnnouncementCongress sets up a joint commission on the minimum wage.[15]
December 2006AnnouncementProtocol of intent between the federal government and the union confederations.[6]
2007AnnouncementBill with the adjustment rule (PL 1/2007), not concluded; the rule was applied through annual measures.[7]
December 2009Legal actMP 474/2009, the first norm with guidelines for the appreciation policy.[17]
December 2010Legal actMP 516/2010 sets the 2011 value by the INPC variation only.[18]
2011Legal actLaw 12,382/2011, the first law with a multiyear rule (Dilma Rousseff government).[19]
2015Legal actLaw 13,152/2015 extends the rule to 2016 to 2019 (Dilma Rousseff government).[20]
2020Interruption2020 adjustment based on the INPC variation; the real increase rule of Law 13,152/2015 was valid until 2019.[11]
2023RelaunchLaw 14,663/2023, permanent appreciation policy.[12]
2024Legal actLaw 15,077/2024 limits the real increase from 2025 to 2030.[13]

How it works

PL No. 1/2007 provided that the Executive would send, by December 31, 2011, a bill on the appreciation policy for 2012 to 2023, with a review of the real increase rules for 2012 to 2015, 2016 to 2019, and 2020 to 2023, and that an Interministerial Group, coordinated by the Ministry of Labor and Employment, would be established to monitor and evaluate the policy.[21]

The Statement of Reasons for MP No. 421/2008 says that the new value corresponds to the estimated INPC variation from April 2007 to February 2008 plus a percentage of real increase, and that the measure fulfills the President's commitment to workers on the appreciation policy, consistent with the Protocol of Intent of December 27, 2006 and formalized in PL No. 1/2007, by then already approved by the Chamber of Deputies and under consideration in the Senate.[22]

MP No. 474/2009 determined that, by March 31, 2011, the Executive would send to Congress a bill on the appreciation policy for 2012 to 2023, providing for a review of the real increase rules for 2012 to 2015, 2016 to 2019, and 2020 to 2023. The Statement of Reasons says that the new value includes a real increase of 5.64%.[23]

Under Law No. 14,663/2023 (art. 3): the adjustment to preserve purchasing power is the INPC (IBGE) variation accumulated in the 12 months ending in November of the year before the adjustment; the real increase, from 2024, is the real GDP growth rate of the second year before the value is set; if GDP is negative, the adjustment is by the INPC only; decimal values are rounded up to the next whole unit.[24]

Article 5 of Complementary Law No. 200 of August 30, 2023 (sustainable fiscal regime) limits the real growth of the primary expenditure limits to no less than 0.6% per year and no more than 2.5% per year.[25]

Under Law No. 12,382/2011 (art. 2), the real increase would be, in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, the percentage equivalent to the real GDP growth rate determined by IBGE for 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013, respectively, using the rate published by IBGE through the last business day of the year before the increase; if the INPC for any month had not been published, the Executive would estimate the indices, with residuals offset in the following adjustment, without retroactivity.[26]

Who it serves

The Statement of Reasons for MP No. 116/2003 estimated that the new value would reach about 18.54 million formal and informal workers who received up to one minimum wage and about 13.92 million people with social security and assistance benefits equal to the minimum, about 32.46 million people in total.[27]

The Statement of Reasons for MP No. 474/2009 estimated, based on PNAD 2008, about 27.5 million formal and informal workers who received up to one minimum wage and about 18.4 million people with a social security or assistance benefit equivalent to up to one minimum wage, approximately 45.9 million people.[28]

DIEESE (a union entity, 2019) estimates that 48 million people have income referenced to the minimum wage, based on PNAD 2015 and the Social Security Statistical Bulletin of October 2018.[29]

Changes

MP No. 288/2006 and Law No. 11,321/2006 revoked, as of April 1, 2006, earlier norms on the minimum wage, among them Law No. 9,971/2000, MP No. 2,194-6/2001, Law No. 10,525/2002, and art. 1 of Laws No. 10,699/2003 and No. 10,888/2004, in addition to Law No. 11,164/2005.[30]

According to DIEESE (a union entity, 2019), up to the 2011 minimum wage value the appreciation policy was applied even though it was not stipulated in law; only in February 2011 was a law approved with the mechanism of annual increases through 2015 (Law No. 12,382/2011).[31]

Law No. 12,255 of June 15, 2010 (conversion of Provisional Measure No. 474 of 2009), signed by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, established that in 2010, from January 1, the minimum wage would be R$510.00 and that, by March 31, 2011, the Executive Branch would send to the National Congress a bill on the minimum wage appreciation policy for the period 2012 to 2023, with a review of the real increase rules. Article 1 of the law has three items and contains no adjustment rule for 2011.[32]

DIEESE (a union entity, January 2019) states that, after the January 2019 adjustment, from a legal standpoint there is no longer a policy directed at the minimum wage, because Law No. 13,152/2015 was in force until 2019.[33]

The summary of Law No. 13,152/2015 addresses the minimum wage appreciation policy and the benefits paid by the General Social Security Regime (RGPS) for 2016 to 2019, but item II of art. 1, which accompanies the minimum wage policy (item I), was vetoed, as were paragraph 6 of art. 1 and art. 3.[34]

Law No. 15,077/2024 resulted from PL No. 4,614/2024, introduced on November 29, 2024 by Deputy José Guimarães (status in the Chamber: "Transformed into Legal Norm"; the proceedings record "Transformed into Ordinary Law 15077/2024," with a partial veto). The justification says that the bill seeks to adjust the growth rate of mandatory spending to LC 200/2023, and lists among the measures the real increase of the minimum wage, until 2030, limited to the actual annual indices of real growth of primary expenditure set in LC 200.[35]

Implementation

Provisional Measure No. 362 of March 29, 2007, set the minimum wage at R$380.00 from April 1, 2007, based on the INPC variation from April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007 and a percentage as a real increase, on R$350.00. It was converted into Law No. 11,498 of June 28, 2007. The MP sets only the 2007 value; it contains no rule for following years.[36]

Provisional Measure No. 421 of February 29, 2008, set the minimum wage at R$415.00 from March 1, 2008, without indicating a formula in the text. It was converted into Law No. 11,709 of June 19, 2008, which also only sets the value.[37]

Provisional Measure No. 456 of January 30, 2009, set the minimum wage at R$465.00 from February 1, 2009; it was converted into Law No. 11,944 of May 28, 2009. The Statement of Reasons says that the value results from the INPC from March 2008 to January 2009 and a real increase corresponding to the real GDP growth of 2007.[38]

Decrees regulating Law No. 13,152/2015 set the minimum wage at R$880.00 (Decree 8,618/2015, Dilma Rousseff, from January 1, 2016), R$937.00 (Decree 8,948/2016, Michel Temer, 2017), R$954.00 (Decree 9,255/2017, Michel Temer, 2018), and R$998.00 (Decree 9,661/2019, Jair Bolsonaro, 2019).[39]

The minimum wage was set at R$1,100.00 from January 1, 2021 (Law No. 14,158/2021, conversion of MP No. 1,021/2020) and at R$1,212.00 from January 1, 2022 (Law No. 14,358/2022, conversion of MP No. 1,091/2021). According to the statements of reasons, the values correspond to the INPC variation in the period from January to December: 5.22% in 2020 and 10.02% in 2021, calculated with IBGE results through November and an estimate for December.[40]

Provisional Measure No. 1,143 of December 12, 2022, signed by Jair Bolsonaro, set the minimum wage at R$1,302.00 from January 1, 2023. The Statement of Reasons says that the value corresponds to the estimated INPC of 5.81% for 2022 plus a real gain of about 1.5%, keeping the value provided for in the PLOA.[41]

Provisional Measure No. 1,172 of May 1, 2023, signed by Lula, set the minimum wage at R$1,320.00 from May 1, 2023 and revoked MP No. 1,143/2022. The Statement of Reasons says that R$1,320.00 corresponds to the 2022 value (R$1,212.00) plus the 2022 INPC (5.9%) and an additional real gain of 2.8%.[42]

Based on Law No. 14,663/2023, decrees signed by Lula set the minimum wage at R$1,412.00 from January 1, 2024 (Decree No. 11,864/2023), R$1,518.00 from January 1, 2025 (Decree No. 12,342/2024, which also cites art. 4 of Law No. 15,077/2024), and R$1,621.00 from January 1, 2026 (Decree No. 12,797/2025, which cites Law No. 15,077/2024).[43]

According to a special note by DIEESE (a union advisory entity, 2023), the Protocol of Intent of December 2006 between the confederations and the federal government provided for the April 2007 adjustment based on the inflation accumulated in the previous twelve months and on GDP growth in 2005, and, until January 2011, the adjustment was based on the criteria defined in that protocol, through a series of provisional measures. This is the version of the union source.[44]

According to Senate Discussion Paper No. 79 (October 2010), even though PL No. 1/2007 had not been converted into law, the Planalto Palace had been following, on a discretionary basis, the rules established in it in the increases granted since 2007; the author attributes the stalling of the bill to the amendment by Senator Paulo Paim that extends minimum wage adjustments to Social Security benefits, which the government had been managing to block on the floor of the Chamber of Deputies.[45]

Decrees signed by Dilma Rousseff regulating Law No. 12,382/2011 set the minimum wage at R$622.00 from January 1, 2012 (Decree No. 7,655/2011), R$678.00 in 2013 (Decree No. 7,872/2012), R$724.00 in 2014 (Decree No. 8,166/2013), and R$788.00 in 2015 (Decree No. 8,381/2014).[46]

Budget and spending

Figures are nominal unless stated otherwise. Announced, authorized, committed, liquidated and paid amounts are different things and appear with the type indicated. In SIOP lines, "paid" means paid within the same fiscal year (arrears settled later are not counted), and one budget action can fund more than one program: the text says when the action is only part of a program.

Estimate in the Statement of Reasons for MP No. 116/2003: budgetary and financial impact in 2003 of R$4.455 billion on Social Security, R$1.128 billion on Unemployment Insurance, and R$279 million on PIS/PASEP allowances, a total of R$5.862 billion; the 2003 LOA already provided R$4.777 billion and the additional amount would be covered by spending freezes and reallocation.[47]

Impact estimates in the statements of reasons: R$2,222.3 million in 2004 (MP 182); R$5,296 million in 2005 (MP 248); about R$9.4 billion in 2006 (R$7.8 billion in Social Security and Assistance and R$1.5 billion in unemployment insurance and allowance; MP 288); R$5,751.8 million on Union expenditures in 2007 (MP 362).[48]

Impact estimates in the statements of reasons: R$5.303 billion on Union expenditures in 2008 (MP 421); in 2010, R$7.775 billion in the RGPS (net) and R$2.091 billion in INSS assistance benefits (MP 474), whose total appears written as "R$ 9.866 bilhões" in the text.[49]

According to the Statement of Reasons for MP 916/2019, for each gross increase of R$1.00 in the minimum wage, expenditures on Social Security Benefits, Allowance and Unemployment Insurance, and BPC/RMV rise by approximately R$355.5 million for 2020, with a net impact of R$319.1 million. According to the Statement of Reasons for MP 1,172/2023, for the change in the minimum wage from R$1,302.00 to R$1,320.00 from May 2023, the Secretariat of the General Social Security Regime calculated an additional total impact of R$3.3 billion in 2023, R$4.8 billion in 2024, and R$4.9 billion in 2025.[50]

Estimate in EMI No. 001/2007 (PL No. 1/2007): the total budgetary and financial impact of the minimum wage increase in 2007 on Union expenditures was estimated at R$5,927.4 million, already allocated in the 2007 LOA; the EMI for MP No. 362/2007, from March, estimated R$5,751.8 million. The EMI for the PL estimated about 42.9 million people with affected income (26.5 million workers earning up to one minimum wage, PNAD 2005, and 16.4 million Social Security beneficiaries).[51]

Estimate in the Statement of Reasons for MP No. 516/2010: net budgetary and financial impact of the minimum wage increase of R$5.148 billion on the General Social Security Regime in 2011 and R$1.332 billion on assistance benefits maintained by INSS, a total of R$6.48 billion, allocated in the 2011 budget bill.[52]

Observed results

A result observed during a term may have causes other than the program.

Calculation by DIEESE (a union entity), in a table with nominal adjustment, INPC, and real increase: between 2003 and 2010, the real increase in the minimum wage was 53.67%. According to DIEESE, almost all of this real increase (51.25 percentage points) was won after the mobilization of the Confederations.[53]

Calculation by DIEESE (a union entity, 2019), deflated by the INPC-IBGE: with the value set in January 2019, the minimum wage has accumulated, since May 2004, a real increase of 74.33%; in the 2017 and 2018 adjustments, the adjustment percentage was lower than the INPC-IBGE, imposing a loss of 0.34%.[54]

According to DIEESE (a union entity, 2009), with the INPC as deflator: in 2003 the adjustment was 20.00% against inflation of 18.54% (a real increase of 1.23%); in 2006, 16.67% against inflation of 3.21% (a real increase of 13.04%); from 2003 to February 2009 the accumulated real gain would be 44.95%, with a nominal variation of 132.50% against inflation of 60.40%.[55]

Impact evaluations

Evaluations with a causal design are flagged; association is not proof of effect.

Engbom and Moser (May 2021 version) combine administrative and survey data with an equilibrium labor market model and conclude that the rise in the minimum wage accounts for one third of the 25.9 log point decline in the variance of log earnings in Brazil since 1994. Using the variation across states in how binding the federal minimum is, they show that a higher minimum is associated with lower inequality up to at least the 70th percentile. The quantitative result depends on the model; the regional evidence is one of association.[56]

Derenoncourt, Gerard, Lagos, and Montialoux (NBER Working Paper 34445, November 2025, not peer reviewed) study the near doubling of the real minimum wage in Brazil from 2000 to 2009, a period that includes years before the first Lula government. Using a difference-in-differences design that exploits the variation, across states and sectors, in the reach of the adjustment, they find nearly full pass-through of the minimum wage to informal employees of formal firms, about half of informal workers, and a small elasticity (-0.28) of reallocation of employment from the formal to the informal sector with respect to the formal wage.[57]

Limitations

The statements of reasons of 2004 and 2009 say that the value of the minimum wage results from the effort to reconcile the improvement of the population's living conditions with the limitations imposed by the Union budget, in particular those arising from the increase in spending on Social Security benefits (in 2009, benefits paid by Social Security and other expenditures of a mandatory nature).[58]

A literature review by Ipea (Discussion Paper 1168, 2006, Gabriel Ulyssea and Miguel Nathan Foguel) concludes that there is consensus regarding the effect of the minimum wage in reducing inequality in the wage distribution of those who remain employed; that there seems to be a negative but small effect of the minimum wage on employment; that the negative impacts seem to fall more strongly on the informal sector, although the effect remains of small magnitude; and that preliminary evidence suggests that the minimum wage has a significant effect on the probability of moving from formal to informal employment.[59]

Context

According to the Statement of Reasons for MP No. 1,172/2023, the minimum wage went without a real adjustment in recent years, and the minimum wage is an important signal for other labor incomes, positively affecting even earnings in the informal sector.[60]

Origin

In the Statement of Reasons E.M.I. No. 1-MPS/MTE/MF/MP of April 2, 2003, which presented a proposal for a provisional measure to adjust the minimum wage value as of April 1, 2003, the signatory ministers estimated inflation (INPC) from April 2002 to March 2003 at about 18% and a real gain of about 1.7%, and stated that the government was consolidating 'the first phase of the project of tirelessly seeking, throughout its term, the doubling of the real value of the minimum wage'. This is a stated objective, not a result.[61]

According to Congresso em Foco (December 27, 2006), the union confederations signed that day, at the Planalto Palace, the agreement on the minimum wage adjustment and the correction of the Income Tax table, together with President Lula and ministers Nelson Machado (Social Security) and Luiz Marinho (Labor); the agreement raised the minimum wage from R$350 to R$380 and corrected the income tax table by 4.6%. Minister Luiz Marinho's article speaks of a correction of 4.5% per year from 2007 to 2010.[62]

Precursors

In the assessment of the author of Senate Discussion Paper No. 79, the joint commission's proposal to move the 2007 adjustment up to March and move the base date back one month per year until January was adopted in toto in the government's PL No. 1/2007, and President Lula closed the agreement with the workers based on the report approved in Congress; the author observes that the bill's justification omits the role of the joint commission. This is the author's interpretation.[63]

Responsibilities

According to a technical note from DIEESE (a union advisory entity, 2009), a Protocol of Intent signed on January 24, 2006 between six union confederations and six ministers set the sending to Congress of the proposal for a minimum wage of R$350.00 as of April 2006 and the resumption of the Quadripartite Commission. The Statement of Reasons of MP 288/2006 says that the value was discussed 'with the participation of the union confederations'.[64]

A DIEESE technical note (a union entity, 2019) attributes the appreciation policy to the joint action of the union confederations in the "Marches to Brasília," held annually from 2004 to 2009, and says that the third March, at the end of 2006, through negotiation with the then Minister of Labor, secured the 2007 increase and the adoption of the policy to take effect from 2008. This is the version of the union source.[65]

Law No. 12,382/2011 determined that the adjustments and increases be established by the Executive Branch by decree, provided for sending, by December 31, 2015, a bill for 2016 to 2019, and ordered the establishment of an interministerial group, under the coordination of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, to monitor and evaluate the policy.[66]

Law No. 14,663/2023 (art. 4) determines that the adjustments and increases be established by the federal Executive Branch by decree, which will publish each year the monthly, daily (1/30), and hourly (1/220) values. The same law changed the monthly personal income tax (IRPF) table from May 2023.[67]

Related indicators

A change in an indicator during a term does not, by itself, prove an effect of the program.

What remains to be documented

  • Origin: Text of the Protocol of Intentions of December 27, 2006 (and of the one of January 24, 2006) not located in a public source. The content of the rule attributed to the protocol depends on a statement by the Minister of Labor and on a union statement.

Sources and evidence

Excerpts are quoted in the original language of the source.

  1. 1. Provisional Measure No. 116 of April 2, 2003, signed by Lula, set the minimum wage at R$240.00 as of April 1, 2003, after applying eighteen percent as an adjustment and one and six hundred ninety-five thousandths percent as a real increase on R$200.00. It was converted into Law No. 10,699 of July 9, 2003.

    • Medida Provisória nº 116, de 2 de abril de 2003 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph and header. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “MEDIDA PROVISÓRIA Nº 116, DE 2 DE ABRIL 2003. Convertida na Lei nº 10.699, de 2003”
    • Medida Provisória nº 116, de 2 de abril de 2003 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: summary. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Dispõe sobre o salário mínimo a partir de 1 o de abril de 2003, e dá outras providências.”
    • Medida Provisória nº 116, de 2 de abril de 2003 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “após a aplicação dos percentuais de dezoito inteiros por cento, a título de reajuste, e de um inteiro e seiscentos e noventa e cinco milésimos por cento, a título de aumento real, sobre o valor de R$ 200,00 (duzentos reais), o salário mínimo será de R$ 240,00 (duzentos e quarenta reais).”
    • Medida Provisória nº 116, de 2 de abril de 2003 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: signatures. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA Antonio Palocci Filho Jaques Wagner Guido Mantega Ricardo José Ribeiro Berzoini”
    • Lei nº 10.699, de 9 de julho de 2003 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph and header. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “LEI N o 10.699, DE 9 DE JULHO DE 2003. Conversão da MPv nº 116, de 2003”

  2. 2. Provisional Measure No. 182 of April 29, 2004 set the minimum wage at R$260.00 as of May 1, 2004, on top of the value of R$240.00, with percentages as an adjustment and as a real increase. It was converted into Law No. 10,888 of June 24, 2004. The Statement of Reasons reports an INPC of 7.0181% (April 2003 to April 2004) and a real gain of 1.2280%, and justifies the change of the date to May 1 by aligning it with the base date of social security benefits.

    • Medida Provisória nº 182, de 29 de abril de 2004 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “MEDIDA PROVISÓRIA Nº 182, DE 29 DE ABRIL 2004. Convertida na Lei nº 10.888, de 2004”
    • Medida Provisória nº 182, de 29 de abril de 2004 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: summary. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Dispõe sobre o salário mínimo a partir de 1º de maio de 2004, e dá outras providências.”
    • Medida Provisória nº 182, de 29 de abril de 2004 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1 (end). Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “a título de aumento real, sobre o valor de R$ 240,00 (duzentos e quarenta reais), o salário mínimo será de R$ 260,00 (duzentos e sessenta reais).”
    • Lei nº 10.888, de 24 de junho de 2004 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph and header. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “LEI Nº 10.888, DE 24 DE JUNHO DE 2004. Conversão da MPv nº 182, de 2004”
    • Exposição de Motivos Interministerial nº 5-MTE/MPS/MF/MP, de 29 de abril de 2004 (MP 182/2004) · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Government communication
      Where: item 2. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Frente à variação de preços verificada entre abril de 2003 e abril de 2004, medida pelo INPC (Índice Nacional de Preços ao Consumidor) e correspondente a 7,0181%, o reajuste ora proposto garante a recomposição do valor real do salário mínimo, além de permitir um ganho real de 1, 2280%.”
    • Exposição de Motivos Interministerial nº 5-MTE/MPS/MF/MP, de 29 de abril de 2004 (MP 182/2004) · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Government communication
      Where: item 7. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Ressurge daí, a conveniência de unificação das datas-base de vigência dos novos valores, e nada mais justo que esse marco retorne ao dia 1º de maio”

  3. 3. Provisional Measure No. 248 of April 20, 2005 set the minimum wage at R$300.00 as of May 1, 2005, after 6.355% as an adjustment and 8.49% as a real increase on R$260.00. It was converted into Law No. 11,164 of August 18, 2005.

    • Medida Provisória nº 248, de 20 de abril de 2005 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “MEDIDA PROVISÓRIA Nº 248, DE 20 DE ABRIL DE 2005. Convertida na Lei nº 11.164, de 2005”
    • Lei nº 11.164, de 18 de agosto de 2005 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “A partir de 1º de maio de 2005, após a aplicação dos percentuais de 6,355% (seis inteiros e trezentos e cinqüenta e cinco milésimos por cento), a título de reajuste, e de 8,49 (oito inteiros e quarenta e nove centésimos por cento), a título de aumento real, sobre o valor de R$ 260,00 (duzentos e sessenta reais), o salário mínimo será de R$ 300,00 (trezentos reais).”
    • Lei nº 11.164, de 18 de agosto de 2005 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph and header. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “LEI Nº 11.164, DE 18 DE AGOSTO DE 2005. Conversão da MPv nº 248, de 2005”

  4. 4. Provisional Measure No. 288 of March 30, 2006 set the minimum wage at R$350.00 as of April 1, 2006, after applying the change in the INPC from May 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006, as an adjustment, and a percentage as a real increase (no number in the norm), on R$300.00. It was converted into Law No. 11,321 of July 7, 2006.

    • Medida Provisória nº 288, de 30 de março de 2006 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “A partir de 1º de abril de 2006, após a aplicação do percentual correspondente à variação do Índice Nacional de Preços ao Consumidor - INPC, ocorrido de 1º de maio de 2005 a 31 de março de 2006, a título de reajuste, e de percentual a título de aumento real, sobre o valor de R$ 300,00 (trezentos reais), o salário mínimo será de R$ 350,00 (trezentos e cinqüenta reais).”
    • Medida Provisória nº 288, de 30 de março de 2006 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “MEDIDA PROVISÓRIA Nº 288, DE 30 DE MARÇO DE 2006. Convertida na Lei 11.321 de 2006”
    • Lei nº 11.321, de 7 de julho de 2006 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph and header. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “LEI Nº 11.321, DE 7 DE JULHO DE 2006. Mensagem de Veto Conversão da MPv nº 288, de 2006”

  5. 5. An unnumbered Decree of April 20, 2005, signed by Lula, established within the Ministry of Labor and Employment the Quadripartite Commission, of an advisory nature, to propose a program to strengthen the minimum wage and analyze its impacts on the labor market, Social Security, and assistance policies. The commission brought together ministries, six workers' confederations (CUT, CGT, Força Sindical, SDS, CAT, and CGTB), employers' confederations, and retirees' organizations.

  6. 6. The official statements of reasons for PL 1/2007 and MP 362/2007 state that the new proposed value for the minimum wage (and, in the case of the PL, the guidelines for its appreciation policy) was the subject of various studies and broad discussion, culminating in the signing of a Protocol of Intent between the Federal Government and the union confederations on December 27, 2006.

    • Projeto de Lei nº 1/2007 (inteiro teor, com a EMI nº 001/MTE/MF/MP/MPS, de 15 de janeiro de 2007) · Chamber of Deputies Official record
      Where: PDF p. 3, item 6 of the EMI. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “novo valor proposto para o salário mínimo e as diretrizes para a sua política de valorização foram objeto de variados estudos e ampla discussão, culminando com a assinatura de Protocolo de Intenções entre Governo Federal e as centrais sindicais, em 27 de dezembro de 2006.”
    • Exposição de Motivos Interministerial nº 03/MTE/MF/MP/MPS, de 29 de março de 2007 (MP 362/2007) · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Government communication
      Where: item 6. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “novo valor proposto para o salário mínimo foi objeto de variados estudos e ampla discussão, culminando com a assinatura de Protocolo de Intenções entre o Governo Federal e as centrais sindicais, em 27 de dezembro de 2006.”
    • Exposição de Motivos Interministerial nº 0003/MTE/MF/MP/MPS, de 28 de fevereiro de 2008 (MP nº 421/2008) · Presidency of the Republic Official record
      Where: item 2. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “A presente medida cumpre o compromisso assumido por Vossa Excelência com os trabalhadores sobre a política de valorização do salário mínimo, coerente com os estudos e a ampla discussão que culminaram com o Protocolo de Intenções assinado pelo Governo Federal e as centrais sindicais, em 27 de dezembro de 2006, e formalizada nos termos do Projeto de Lei nº 1, de 2007, de autoria do Poder Executivo”

  7. 7. Bill No. 1/2007 "provides for the value of the minimum wage from 2007 and establishes guidelines for its appreciation policy from 2008 to 2023." Under the text, from 2008 to 2011 the adjustments would be applied on March 1, 2008, February 1, 2009, and January 1, 2010 and 2011, by the accumulated variation of the INPC, plus, as a real increase, the real GDP growth rate of 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, respectively.

  8. 8. In EMI No. 001/MTE/MF/MP/MPS of January 15, 2007, which accompanies PL No. 1/2007, the signatory ministers (Marco Antonio de Oliveira, Nelson Machado, Guido Mantega, and Paulo Bernardo Silva) explain that the bill provides, from 2008 to 2011, for annual adjustments in March 2008, February 2009, January 2010, and January 2011, by the INPC variation accumulated over eleven months, plus the real GDP growth rate determined, respectively, in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, with the stated objective of gradually restoring the real value of the minimum wage.

  9. 9. In the statements of reasons for the annual measures of the second term, the ministries describe the index applied as follows: 2007 (MP 362), estimate of the accumulated INPC variation from May 2006 to March 2007, plus the real increase, with no percentage; 2008 (MP 421), estimated accumulated INPC variation from April 2007 to February 2008 and a percentage as a real increase, without citing GDP; 2009 (MP 456), a percentage as a real increase corresponding to real GDP growth in 2007; 2010 (MP 474), accumulated INPC variation from February 2009 to December 2009, with December estimated by the Ministry of Finance, plus a real increase corresponding to 5.64%.

  10. 10. PL No. 1/2007 (in the Senate, PLC No. 42/2007, authored by the Presidency of the Republic) was approved by the Senate floor with an amendment and sent back to the Chamber of Deputies on April 17, 2008. In the Chamber, the status recorded in the open data is "Ready for Agenda," with the last action in 2018 (a request for inclusion in the Order of the Day). It did not become law.

    • Projeto de Lei da Câmara nº 42, de 2007 · Federal Senate Official record
      Where: header and current status. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Projeto de Lei da Câmara n° 42, de 2007 Autoria: Presidência da República Autoria: Câmara dos Deputados Nº na Câmara dos Deputados: PL 1/2007”
    • Projeto de Lei da Câmara nº 42, de 2007 · Federal Senate Official record
      Where: current status. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Decisão: Aprovada pelo Plenário Destino: À Câmara dos Deputados Último estado: 17/04/2008 - REMETIDA À CÂMARA DOS DEPUTADOS”
    • Projeto de Lei da Câmara nº 42, de 2007 · Federal Senate Official record
      Where: documents, autograph of April 17, 2008. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “comunicando que o Senado Federal aprovou, em revisão e com emenda o Projeto”
    • PL 1/2007 – dados da proposição (API de dados abertos) · Chamber of Deputies Official record
      Where: statusProposicao. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Pronta para Pauta”
    • PL 1/2007 – dados da proposição (API de dados abertos) · Chamber of Deputies Official record
      Where: statusProposicao.despacho. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Apresentação do Requerimento de Inclusão na Ordem do Dia n. 8017/2018, pelo Deputado Arnaldo Faria de Sá (PTB-SP)”

  11. 11. For 2020, Law No. 14,013 of June 10, 2020 (conversion of MP No. 919/2020) set the minimum wage at R$1,039.00 in January and R$1,045.00 from February 1, 2020. The statements of reasons for MPs 916/2019 and 919/2020 say that the values start from the INPC variation in the period from January to December 2019 and incorporate compensation for the difference between the INPC variation that actually occurred in December 2018 and the estimate used beforehand.

    • Lei nº 14.013, de 10 de junho de 2020 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1 and art. 2. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “No mês de janeiro de 2020, o salário-mínimo será de R$ 1.039,00 (mil e trinta e nove reais).”
    • Lei nº 14.013, de 10 de junho de 2020 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 2. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “A partir de 1º de fevereiro de 2020, o salário-mínimo será de R$ 1.045,00 (mil e quarenta e cinco reais).”
    • Lei nº 14.013, de 10 de junho de 2020 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: header. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Conversão da Medida Provisória 919, de 2020”
    • Exposição de Motivos nº 00020/2020 ME, de 29 de janeiro de 2020 (MP 919/2020) · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Government communication
      Where: PDF p. 1, item 2. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “valor aqui proposto corresponde à aplicação, sobre o salário mínimo vigente em 2019, da variação do Índice Nacional de Preços ao Consumidor – INPC, no período de janeiro a dezembro de 2019 e incorpora a compensação da diferença entre a variação do INPC efetivamente ocorrida em dezembro de 2018”
    • Exposição de Motivos nº 00409/2019 ME, de 30 de dezembro de 2019 (MP 916/2019) · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Government communication
      Where: PDF p. 1, item 2. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “valor ora proposto parte da aplicação da variação do Índice Nacional de Preços ao Consumidor – INPC, no período de janeiro a dezembro de 2019”

  12. 12. Law No. 14,663 of August 28, 2023 (conversion of MP No. 1,172/2023), signed by Lula, set the minimum wage at R$1,320.00 from May 1, 2023 and "establishes the permanent minimum wage appreciation policy to be in effect from January 1, 2024": the value results from the sum of the previous year's inflation index and the real GDP growth index of two years earlier, applied on January 1 of each year.

    • Lei nº 14.663, de 28 de agosto de 2023 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: heading, header, and summary. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “LEI Nº 14.663, DE 28 DE AGOSTO DE 2023 Conversão da Medida Provisória nº 1.172, de 2023 Define o valor do salário mínimo a partir de 1º de maio de 2023; estabelece a política de valorização permanente do salário mínimo a vigorar a partir de 1º de janeiro de 2024;”
    • Lei nº 14.663, de 28 de agosto de 2023 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 3, caput. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Ficam estabelecidas as diretrizes para a política de valorização do salário mínimo a vigorar a partir de 2024, inclusive, a serem aplicadas em 1º de janeiro do respectivo ano, considerado que o valor decorrerá da soma do índice de medida da inflação do ano anterior, para a preservação do poder aquisitivo, com o índice correspondente ao crescimento real do Produto Interno Bruto (PIB) de 2 (dois) anos anteriores, para fins de aumento real”
    • Lei nº 14.663, de 28 de agosto de 2023 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 2. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “valor do salário mínimo será de R$ 1.320,00 (mil trezentos e vinte reais) a partir de 1º de maio de 2023.”
    • Lei nº 14.663, de 28 de agosto de 2023 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: signatures. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA Fernando Haddad Flávio Dino de Castro e Costa Simone Nassar Tebet Carlos Roberto Lupi Luiz Marinho”

  13. 13. Law No. 15,077 of December 27, 2024 (which amends public policy laws, including LOAS and Bolsa Família), establishes in art. 4 that, between 2025 and 2030, the real increase referred to in paragraph 4 of art. 3 of Law No. 14,663/2023 will be neither lower than the minimum index nor higher than the index actually determined under art. 5 of Complementary Law No. 200/2023 (New Fiscal Framework).

    • Lei nº 15.077, de 27 de dezembro de 2024 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 4. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Entre 2025 e 2030, o aumento real de que trata o § 4º do art. 3º da Lei nº 14.663, de 28 de agosto de 2023 , não será inferior ao índice mínimo nem superior ao índice efetivamente apurado nos termos do art. 5º da Lei Complementar nº 200, de 30 de agosto de 2023 (Novo Arcabouço Fiscal).”
    • Lei nº 15.077, de 27 de dezembro de 2024 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph and summary. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “LEI Nº 15.077, DE 27 DE DEZEMBRO DE 2024 Mensagem de veto Altera as Leis nºs 8.171, de 17 de janeiro de 1991 (Lei da Política Agrícola), 8.742, de 7 de dezembro de 1993 (Lei Orgânica da Assistência Social), 14.601, de 19 de junho de 2023 (Lei do Programa Bolsa Família)”

  14. 14. Law No. 10,525 of August 6, 2002 (the conversion of MP No. 35/2002) set the minimum wage at R$200.00 as of April 1, 2002, after applying nine and forty-seven hundredths percent as an adjustment and one and fifty hundredths percent as a real increase on R$180.00. The law does not establish an adjustment rule for the following years.

    • Lei nº 10.525, de 6 de agosto de 2002 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph and header. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “LEI N o 10.525, DE 6 DE AGOSTO DE 2002. Conversão da MPv nº 35, de 2002”
    • Lei nº 10.525, de 6 de agosto de 2002 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: summary. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Dispõe sobre o salário mínimo a partir de 1 o de abril de 2002, e dá outras providências.”
    • Lei nº 10.525, de 6 de agosto de 2002 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “após a aplicação dos percentuais de nove inteiros e quarenta e sete centésimos por cento, a título de reajuste, e um inteiro e cinquenta centésimos por cento, a título de aumento real, sobre o valor de R$ 180,00 (cento e oitenta reais), o salário mínimo será de R$ 200,00 (duzentos reais).”

  15. 15. According to a Discussion Paper of the Senate Legislative Consultancy Study Center (No. 79, October 2010, Edvaldo Fernandes), Joint Act No. 3 of October 25, 2005, from the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate created the Special Joint Commission on the Minimum Wage, with Senator Paulo Paim as rapporteur; the final report, of October 4, 2006, suggested a permanent appreciation policy, with an annual increase equal to inflation as measured by the INPC plus twice the real GDP variation of the previous year.

  16. 16. The statements of reasons for MPs No. 288/2006 and No. 362/2007 justify the urgency of the provisional measure by the fact that the National Congress did not approve in time the bill sent by the Executive Branch. In 2004, Law No. 10,888 was promulgated by the President of the Board of the National Congress, José Sarney, after the National Congress approved Provisional Measure No. 182 of 2004, adopted by the President of the Republic.

    • Exposição de Motivos Interministerial nº 009/MTE/MF/MPS/MP, de 30 de março de 2006 (MP 288/2006) · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Government communication
      Where: item 8. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “derivam da urgente necessidade de fixação do novo valor do salário mínimo que terá vigência a partir de 1º de abril de 2006, haja vista não ter sido aprovado, pelo Congresso Nacional, em tempo hábil, o Projeto de Lei encaminhado pelo Poder Executivo contendo esta providência.”
    • Exposição de Motivos Interministerial nº 03/MTE/MF/MP/MPS, de 29 de março de 2007 (MP 362/2007) · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Government communication
      Where: item 8. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “haja vista não ter sido aprovado, pelo Congresso Nacional, em tempo hábil, o Projeto de Lei encaminhado pelo Poder Executivo contendo esta providência.”
    • Lei nº 10.888, de 24 de junho de 2004 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: preamble. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Faço saber que o Presidente da República adotou a Medida Provisória nº 182, de 2004, que o Congresso Nacional aprovou, e eu, José Sarney, Presidente da Mesa do Congresso Nacional”

  17. 17. Provisional Measure No. 474 of December 23, 2009, signed by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, "establishes guidelines for the minimum wage appreciation policy" (summary: between 2011 and 2023; art. 1: between 2010 and 2023). It set R$510.00 from January 1, 2010 and determined that, on January 1, 2011, the adjustment would correspond to the accumulated INPC variation from January to December 2010, plus a percentage equivalent to the real GDP variation rate of 2009, if positive.

    • Medida Provisória nº 474, de 23 de dezembro de 2009 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph and summary. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “MEDIDA PROVISÓRIA Nº 474, DE 23 DE DEZEMBRO DE 2009. Convertida na Lei nº 12.255, de 2010. Texto para impressão. Exposição de Motivos Dispõe sobre o salário mínimo a partir de 1 o de janeiro de 2010 e estabelece diretrizes para a política de valorização do salário mínimo entre 2011 e 2023.”
    • Medida Provisória nº 474, de 23 de dezembro de 2009 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1, main clause and item I. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Ficam estabelecidas as diretrizes para a política de valorização do salário mínimo entre 2010 e 2023, obedecendo as seguintes regras: I - em 2010, a partir do dia 1 o de janeiro, o salário mínimo será de R$ 510,00 (quinhentos e dez reais);”
    • Medida Provisória nº 474, de 23 de dezembro de 2009 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1, II. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “II - em 1 o de janeiro de 2011, o reajuste para a preservação do poder aquisitivo do salário mínimo corresponderá à variação acumulada do Índice Nacional de Preços ao Consumidor - INPC verificada no período de janeiro a dezembro de 2010, acrescida de percentual equivalente à taxa de variação real do Produto Interno Bruto - PIB de 2009, se positiva, ambos os índices apurados pelo IBGE;”
    • Medida Provisória nº 474, de 23 de dezembro de 2009 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: signatures. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA Guido Mantega André Peixoto Figueiredo Lima Paulo Bernardo Silva José Pimentel”

  18. 18. Provisional Measure No. 516 of December 30, 2010, signed by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, set the minimum wage at R$540.00 from January 1, 2011. According to the Statement of Reasons, the value results from about 5.88% over the minimum wage then in force, considering practically only the INPC variation from January to December 2010, because, owing to the impacts of the global financial crisis in the last two fiscal years, it was not possible to include real GDP variation in the calculation. Law No. 12,382/2011, under Dilma Rousseff, later set the 2011 value at R$545.00.

    • Medida Provisória nº 516, de 30 de dezembro de 2010 · Presidency of the Republic Official legal act
      Where: art. 1, caput. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “A partir do dia 1º de janeiro de 2011, o salário mínimo será de R$ 540,00 (quinhentos e quarenta reais).”
    • Medida Provisória nº 516, de 30 de dezembro de 2010 · Presidency of the Republic Official legal act
      Where: closing and signature. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Brasília, 30 de dezembro de 2010; 189º da Independência e 122º da República. LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA”
    • Exposição de Motivos Interministerial nº 00038/MTE/MPS/MF/MPO, de 23 de dezembro de 2010 (MP nº 516/2010) · Presidency of the Republic Official record
      Where: item 2. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “valor ora proposto decorre da aplicação do percentual de cerca de 5,88% sobre o salário mínimo vigente, considerando-se, praticamente, apenas a variação acumulada do Índice Nacional de Preços ao Consumidor – INPC, no período de janeiro a dezembro de 2010, sendo o de dezembro estimado pelo Ministério da Fazenda.”
    • Exposição de Motivos Interministerial nº 00038/MTE/MPS/MF/MPO, de 23 de dezembro de 2010 (MP nº 516/2010) · Presidency of the Republic Official record
      Where: item 3. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Em função dos impactos da crise financeira mundial, nos dois últimos exercícios, sobre a economia do nosso País, infelizmente não foi possível considerar no cálculo do novo salário mínimo variação real do Produto Interno Bruto (PIB), a exemplo do acréscimo ocorrido nos anos anteriores do Governo de Vossa Excelência.”
    • Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1, caput. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “salário mínimo passa a corresponder ao valor de R$ 545,00 (quinhentos e quarenta e cinco reais).”
    • Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: closing and signature. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Brasília, 25 de fevereiro de 2011; 190º da Independência e 123º da República. DILMA ROUSSEFF”

  19. 19. Law No. 12,382 of February 25, 2011, signed by President Dilma Rousseff, set the minimum wage at R$545.00 and established guidelines for the appreciation policy between 2012 and 2015, applied on January 1: an adjustment by the INPC variation accumulated in the twelve months before the month of the adjustment and, as a real increase, the real GDP growth rate of two years earlier (2010 for 2012, up to 2013 for 2015). It repealed Law No. 12,255/2010.

    • Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “salário mínimo passa a corresponder ao valor de R$ 545,00 (quinhentos e quarenta e cinco reais).”
    • Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 2, caput and § 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Ficam estabelecidas as diretrizes para a política de valorização do salário mínimo a vigorar entre 2012 e 2015, inclusive, a serem aplicadas em 1º de janeiro do respectivo ano. § 1º Os reajustes para a preservação do poder aquisitivo do salário mínimo corresponderão à variação do Índice Nacional de Preços ao Consumidor - INPC”
    • Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 2, paragraph 4, I and IV. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “I - em 2012, será aplicado o percentual equivalente à taxa de crescimento real do Produto Interno Bruto - PIB, apurada pelo IBGE, para o ano de 2010;”
    • Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 2, paragraph 4, IV. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “IV - em 2015, será aplicado o percentual equivalente à taxa de crescimento real do PIB, apurada pelo IBGE, para o ano de 2013.”
    • Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 8 and signature. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Fica revogada a Lei nº 12.255, de 15 de junho de 2010. Brasília, 25 de fevereiro de 2011; 190º da Independência e 123º da República. DILMA ROUSSEFF”

  20. 20. Law No. 13,152 of July 29, 2015 (conversion of Provisional Measure No. 672 of 2015), signed by Dilma Rousseff, established guidelines to be in effect between 2016 and 2019 for the minimum wage appreciation policy: an adjustment by the INPC variation accumulated in the 12 (twelve) months before the month of the adjustment and, as a real increase, the real GDP growth rate of two years earlier (2014 for 2016, up to 2017 for 2019). The summary also mentions the benefits paid by the General Social Security Regime (RGPS), but item II of art. 1 was vetoed.

    • Lei nº 13.152, de 29 de julho de 2015 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph and header. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “LEI Nº 13.152, DE 29 DE JULHO DE 2015. Mensagem de veto Conversão da Medida Provisória nº 672, de 2015”
    • Lei nº 13.152, de 29 de julho de 2015 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1, caput. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “São estabelecidas as diretrizes a vigorar entre 2016 e 2019, inclusive, a serem aplicadas em 1º de janeiro do respectivo ano, para: I - a política de valorização do salário-mínimo; e II - (VETADO).”
    • Lei nº 13.152, de 29 de julho de 2015 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1, paragraph 4, I. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “I - em 2016, será aplicado o percentual equivalente à taxa de crescimento real do Produto Interno Bruto (PIB), apurada pelo IBGE, para o ano de 2014;”
    • Lei nº 13.152, de 29 de julho de 2015 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1, paragraph 4, IV. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “IV - em 2019, será aplicado o percentual equivalente à taxa de crescimento real do PIB, apurada pelo IBGE, para o ano de 2017.”
    • Lei nº 13.152, de 29 de julho de 2015 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1, § 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “acumulada nos 12 (doze) meses anteriores ao mês do reajuste.”
    • Lei nº 13.152, de 29 de julho de 2015 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: signatures. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “DILMA ROUSSEFF José Eduardo Cardozo Joaquim Vieira Ferreira Levy Nelson Barbosa”
    • Lei nº 13.152, de 29 de julho de 2015 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: summary. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Dispõe sobre a política de valorização do salário-mínimo e dos benefícios pagos pelo Regime Geral de Previdência Social (RGPS) para o período de 2016 a 2019.”

  21. 21. PL No. 1/2007 provided that the Executive would send, by December 31, 2011, a bill on the appreciation policy for 2012 to 2023, with a review of the real increase rules for 2012 to 2015, 2016 to 2019, and 2020 to 2023, and that an Interministerial Group, coordinated by the Ministry of Labor and Employment, would be established to monitor and evaluate the policy.

  22. 22. The Statement of Reasons for MP No. 421/2008 says that the new value corresponds to the estimated INPC variation from April 2007 to February 2008 plus a percentage of real increase, and that the measure fulfills the President's commitment to workers on the appreciation policy, consistent with the Protocol of Intent of December 27, 2006 and formalized in PL No. 1/2007, by then already approved by the Chamber of Deputies and under consideration in the Senate.

    • Exposição de Motivos Interministerial nº 0003/MTE/MF/MP/MPS, de 28 de fevereiro de 2008 (MP 421/2008) · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Government communication
      Where: item 2. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “representa reajuste pela variação acumulada estimada do Índice Nacional de Preços ao Consumidor – INPC, no período de abril de 2007 a fevereiro de 2008, e de percentual a título de aumento real.”
    • Exposição de Motivos Interministerial nº 0003/MTE/MF/MP/MPS, de 28 de fevereiro de 2008 (MP 421/2008) · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Government communication
      Where: item 2. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “A presente medida cumpre o compromisso assumido por Vossa Excelência com os trabalhadores sobre a política de valorização do salário mínimo, coerente com os estudos e a ampla discussão que culminaram com o Protocolo de Intenções assinado pelo Governo Federal e as centrais sindicais, em 27 de dezembro de 2006, e formalizada nos termos do Projeto de Lei nº 1, de 2007, de autoria do Poder Executivo, já aprovado pela Câmara dos Deputados e atualmente sob apreciação do Senado Federal.”

  23. 23. MP No. 474/2009 determined that, by March 31, 2011, the Executive would send to Congress a bill on the appreciation policy for 2012 to 2023, providing for a review of the real increase rules for 2012 to 2015, 2016 to 2019, and 2020 to 2023. The Statement of Reasons says that the new value includes a real increase of 5.64%.

    • Medida Provisória nº 474, de 23 de dezembro de 2009 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1, VII and VIII. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “VII - até 31 de março de 2011, o Poder Executivo encaminhará ao Congresso Nacional projeto de lei dispondo sobre a política de valorização do salário mínimo para o período de 2012 a 2023, inclusive; e VIII - o projeto de lei de que trata o inciso VII preverá a revisão das regras de aumento real do salário mínimo a serem adotadas para os períodos de 2012 a 2015, 2016 a 2019 e 2020 a 2023.”
    • Exposição de Motivos Interministerial nº 00032/MTE/MF/MP/MPS, de 23 de dezembro de 2009 (MP 474/2009) · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Government communication
      Where: item 2. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “no período de fevereiro de 2009 a dezembro de 2009, sendo o de dezembro estimado pelo Ministério da Fazenda, acrescido de aumento real correspondente a 5,64% (cinco inteiros e sessenta e quatro centésimos por cento).”

  24. 24. Under Law No. 14,663/2023 (art. 3): the adjustment to preserve purchasing power is the INPC (IBGE) variation accumulated in the 12 months ending in November of the year before the adjustment; the real increase, from 2024, is the real GDP growth rate of the second year before the value is set; if GDP is negative, the adjustment is by the INPC only; decimal values are rounded up to the next whole unit.

    • Lei nº 14.663, de 28 de agosto de 2023 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 3, § 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Os reajustes para a preservação do poder aquisitivo do salário mínimo corresponderão à variação do Índice Nacional de Preços ao Consumidor (INPC), calculado e divulgado pela Fundação Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), acumulada nos 12 (doze) meses encerrados em novembro do exercício anterior ao do reajuste.”
    • Lei nº 14.663, de 28 de agosto de 2023 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 3, § 4. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Para fins de aumento real, será aplicado, a partir de 2024, o percentual equivalente à taxa de crescimento real do PIB do segundo ano anterior ao da fixação do valor do salário mínimo, apurada pelo IBGE até o último dia útil do ano e divulgada no ano anterior ao de aplicação do aumento real.”
    • Lei nº 14.663, de 28 de agosto de 2023 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 3, paragraphs 5 and 6. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Em caso de taxa de crescimento real negativa do PIB, o salário mínimo será reajustado apenas pelo índice previsto no § 1º deste artigo vigente à época. § 6º Nos casos em que o cálculo do valor do salário mínimo resultar em valores decimais, o valor a ser pago será arredondado para a unidade inteira imediatamente superior.”

  25. 25. Article 5 of Complementary Law No. 200 of August 30, 2023 (sustainable fiscal regime) limits the real growth of the primary expenditure limits to no less than 0.6% per year and no more than 2.5% per year.

    • Lei Complementar nº 200, de 30 de agosto de 2023 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 5, § 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “crescimento real dos limites da despesa primária, nos casos previstos nos incisos I e II do caput deste artigo, não será inferior a 0,6% a.a. (seis décimos por cento ao ano) nem superior a 2,5% a.a. (dois inteiros e cinco décimos por cento ao ano).”
    • Lei Complementar nº 200, de 30 de agosto de 2023 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: summary. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Institui regime fiscal sustentável para garantir a estabilidade macroeconômica do País”

  26. 26. Under Law No. 12,382/2011 (art. 2), the real increase would be, in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, the percentage equivalent to the real GDP growth rate determined by IBGE for 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013, respectively, using the rate published by IBGE through the last business day of the year before the increase; if the INPC for any month had not been published, the Executive would estimate the indices, with residuals offset in the following adjustment, without retroactivity.

    • Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 2, paragraph 4, I. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “I - em 2012, será aplicado o percentual equivalente à taxa de crescimento real do Produto Interno Bruto - PIB, apurada pelo IBGE, para o ano de 2010;”
    • Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 2, paragraph 4, II. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “II - em 2013, será aplicado o percentual equivalente à taxa de crescimento real do PIB, apurada pelo IBGE, para o ano de 2011;”
    • Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 2, paragraph 4, III. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “III - em 2014, será aplicado o percentual equivalente à taxa de crescimento real do PIB, apurada pelo IBGE, para o ano de 2012; e”
    • Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 2, paragraph 4, IV. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “IV - em 2015, será aplicado o percentual equivalente à taxa de crescimento real do PIB, apurada pelo IBGE, para o ano de 2013.”
    • Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 2, § 5. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “será utilizada a taxa de crescimento real do PIB para o ano de referência, divulgada pelo IBGE até o último dia útil do ano imediatamente anterior ao de aplicação do respectivo aumento real.”
    • Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 2, §§ 2 and 3. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “o Poder Executivo estimará os índices dos meses não disponíveis.”
    • Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 2, § 3. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “os índices estimados permanecerão válidos para os fins desta Lei, sem qualquer revisão, sendo os eventuais resíduos compensados no reajuste subsequente, sem retroatividade.”

  27. 27. The Statement of Reasons for MP No. 116/2003 estimated that the new value would reach about 18.54 million formal and informal workers who received up to one minimum wage and about 13.92 million people with social security and assistance benefits equal to the minimum, about 32.46 million people in total.

  28. 28. The Statement of Reasons for MP No. 474/2009 estimated, based on PNAD 2008, about 27.5 million formal and informal workers who received up to one minimum wage and about 18.4 million people with a social security or assistance benefit equivalent to up to one minimum wage, approximately 45.9 million people.

    • Exposição de Motivos Interministerial nº 00032/MTE/MF/MP/MPS, de 23 de dezembro de 2009 (MP 474/2009) · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Government communication
      Where: item 3. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “A elevação do valor desta remuneração beneficiará cerca de 27,5 milhões de trabalhadores formais e informais que, segundo as informações da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílio - PNAD-2008, recebiam até um salário mínimo mensalmente. A este contingente se somam ainda cerca de 18,4 milhões de pessoas que recebem o equivalente a até um salário mínimo como benefício previdenciário ou assistencial pago pela Previdência Social.”
    • Exposição de Motivos Interministerial nº 00032/MTE/MF/MP/MPS, de 23 de dezembro de 2009 (MP 474/2009) · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Government communication
      Where: item 3. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Em suma, direta ou indiretamente, aproximadamente 45,9 milhões de pessoas poderão ter sua renda mensal majorada por efeito da elevação proposta para o salário mínimo.”

  29. 29. DIEESE (a union entity, 2019) estimates that 48 million people have income referenced to the minimum wage, based on PNAD 2015 and the Social Security Statistical Bulletin of October 2018.

    • Salário mínimo de 2019 é fixado em R$ 998,00 (Nota Técnica nº 201) · DIEESE: Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (union entity) Academic study
      Where: PDF p. 5. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “48 milhões de pessoas têm rendimento referenciado no salário mínimo.”
    • Salário mínimo de 2019 é fixado em R$ 998,00 (Nota Técnica nº 201) · DIEESE: Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (union entity) Academic study
      Where: PDF p. 5, source of Table 2. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Fonte: IBGE. Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios 2015; Ministério da Previdência e Assistência Social. Boletim Estatístico da Previdência Social outubro de 2018”

  30. 30. MP No. 288/2006 and Law No. 11,321/2006 revoked, as of April 1, 2006, earlier norms on the minimum wage, among them Law No. 9,971/2000, MP No. 2,194-6/2001, Law No. 10,525/2002, and art. 1 of Laws No. 10,699/2003 and No. 10,888/2004, in addition to Law No. 11,164/2005.

    • Lei nº 11.321, de 7 de julho de 2006 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 3, VII to XII. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “VII - a Lei nº 9.971, de 18 de maio de 2000; VIII - a Medida Provisória nº 2.194-6, de 23 de agosto de 2001 ; IX - a Lei nº 10.525, de 6 de agosto de 2002 ; X - o art. 1º da Lei nº 10.699, de 9 de julho de 2003; XI - o art. 1º da Lei nº 10.888, de 24 de junho de 2004 ; e XII - a Lei nº 11.164, de 18 de agosto de 2005.”
    • Medida Provisória nº 288, de 30 de março de 2006 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 3, caput. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Ficam revogados, a partir de 1º de abril de 2006:”

  31. 31. According to DIEESE (a union entity, 2019), up to the 2011 minimum wage value the appreciation policy was applied even though it was not stipulated in law; only in February 2011 was a law approved with the mechanism of annual increases through 2015 (Law No. 12,382/2011).

    • Salário mínimo de 2019 é fixado em R$ 998,00 (Nota Técnica nº 201) · DIEESE: Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (union entity) Academic study
      Where: PDF p. 3. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Até o novo valor do mínimo de 2011, a política de valorização foi aplicada mesmo não sendo estipulada por lei. Apenas em fevereiro de 2011, aprovou-se projeto de lei que estabeleceu o mecanismo de aumento anual até 2015”
    • Salário mínimo de 2019 é fixado em R$ 998,00 (Nota Técnica nº 201) · DIEESE: Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (union entity) Academic study
      Where: PDF p. 3, footnote 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “1 Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011.”

  32. 32. Law No. 12,255 of June 15, 2010 (conversion of Provisional Measure No. 474 of 2009), signed by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, established that in 2010, from January 1, the minimum wage would be R$510.00 and that, by March 31, 2011, the Executive Branch would send to the National Congress a bill on the minimum wage appreciation policy for the period 2012 to 2023, with a review of the real increase rules. Article 1 of the law has three items and contains no adjustment rule for 2011.

    • Lei nº 12.255, de 15 de junho de 2010 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: heading, header, and summary. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “LEI Nº 12.255, DE 15 DE JUNHO DE 2010. Conversão da Medida Provisória nº 474, de 2009. Revogado pela Lei nº 12.382, de 2011.”
    • Lei nº 12.255, de 15 de junho de 2010 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1, I to III. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “I - em 2010, a partir do dia 1 o de janeiro, o salário mínimo será de R$ 510,00 (quinhentos e dez reais); (Vide Medida Provisória nº 516, de 2010) II - até 31 de março de 2011, o Poder Executivo encaminhará ao Congresso Nacional projeto de lei dispondo sobre a política de valorização do salário mínimo para o período de 2012 e 2023, inclusive; e III - o projeto de lei de que trata o inciso II preverá a revisão das regras de aumento real”
    • Lei nº 12.255, de 15 de junho de 2010 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: signatures. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Brasília, 15 de junho de 2010; 189 o da Independência e 122 o da República. LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA”

  33. 33. DIEESE (a union entity, January 2019) states that, after the January 2019 adjustment, from a legal standpoint there is no longer a policy directed at the minimum wage, because Law No. 13,152/2015 was in force until 2019.

  34. 34. The summary of Law No. 13,152/2015 addresses the minimum wage appreciation policy and the benefits paid by the General Social Security Regime (RGPS) for 2016 to 2019, but item II of art. 1, which accompanies the minimum wage policy (item I), was vetoed, as were paragraph 6 of art. 1 and art. 3.

    • Lei nº 13.152, de 29 de julho de 2015 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: summary. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Dispõe sobre a política de valorização do salário-mínimo e dos benefícios pagos pelo Regime Geral de Previdência Social (RGPS) para o período de 2016 a 2019.”
    • Lei nº 13.152, de 29 de julho de 2015 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1, main clause and items. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “I - a política de valorização do salário-mínimo; e II - (VETADO).”
    • Lei nº 13.152, de 29 de julho de 2015 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1, paragraph 6, and art. 3. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “§ 6º (VETADO).”
    • Lei nº 13.152, de 29 de julho de 2015 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 3. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Art. 3º (VETADO).”

  35. 35. Law No. 15,077/2024 resulted from PL No. 4,614/2024, introduced on November 29, 2024 by Deputy José Guimarães (status in the Chamber: "Transformed into Legal Norm"; the proceedings record "Transformed into Ordinary Law 15077/2024," with a partial veto). The justification says that the bill seeks to adjust the growth rate of mandatory spending to LC 200/2023, and lists among the measures the real increase of the minimum wage, until 2030, limited to the actual annual indices of real growth of primary expenditure set in LC 200.

    • Projeto de Lei nº 4.614/2024 (inteiro teor) · Chamber of Deputies Official record
      Where: PDF p. 1, authorship. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “(Do Senhor JOSÉ GUIMARÃES)”
    • Projeto de Lei nº 4.614/2024 (inteiro teor) · Chamber of Deputies Official record
      Where: PDF p. 2, certification. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “PL n.4614/2024 Apresentação: 29/11/2024 15:50:31.917 - Mesa”
    • Projeto de Lei nº 4.614/2024 (inteiro teor) · Chamber of Deputies Official record
      Where: PDF p. 4, justification. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “O projeto de lei tem a finalidade de racionalizar despesas públicas primárias, com vistas a aperfeiçoar o orçamento público e ajustar o ritmo de crescimento do gasto obrigatório ao disposto na LC 200/2023 (arcabouço fiscal), que limita o crescimento real da despesa a 70% da variação da receita, sempre entre 0,6% e 2,5%.”
    • Projeto de Lei nº 4.614/2024 (inteiro teor) · Chamber of Deputies Official record
      Where: PDF p. 4, justification, item 3. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Até 2030, aumento real do salário mínimo limitado aos índices anuais efetivos de crescimento real da despesa primária fixados na LC 200;”
    • API de dados abertos da Câmara: proposição 2473375 (PL 4614/2024) · Chamber of Deputies Official record
      Where: field statusProposicao.descricaoSituacao. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Transformado em Norma Jurídica”
    • API de dados abertos da Câmara: tramitações da proposição 2473375 (PL 4614/2024) · Chamber of Deputies Official record
      Where: proceedings of December 27, 2024, dispatch field. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Transformado na Lei Ordinária 15077/2024. DOU 27/12/24 PÁG 01 COL 01. Vetado parcialmente.”

  36. 36. Provisional Measure No. 362 of March 29, 2007, set the minimum wage at R$380.00 from April 1, 2007, based on the INPC variation from April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007 and a percentage as a real increase, on R$350.00. It was converted into Law No. 11,498 of June 28, 2007. The MP sets only the 2007 value; it contains no rule for following years.

    • Medida Provisória nº 362, de 29 de março de 2007 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph and summary. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “MEDIDA PROVISÓRIA Nº 362, DE 29 DE MARÇO DE 2007. Convertida na Lei nº 11.498, de 2007 Texto para impressão Exposição de Motivos Dispõe sobre o salário mínimo a partir de 1 o de abril de 2007.”
    • Medida Provisória nº 362, de 29 de março de 2007 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “referente ao período entre 1 o de abril de 2006 e 31 de março de 2007, a título de reajuste, e de percentual a título de aumento real, sobre o valor de R$ 350,00 (trezentos e cinqüenta reais) o salário mínimo será de R$ 380,00 (trezentos e oitenta reais).”
    • Lei nº 11.498, de 28 de junho de 2007 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph and header. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “LEI Nº 11.498, DE 28 DE JUNHO DE 2007. Conversão da MPv nº 362, de 2007”

  37. 37. Provisional Measure No. 421 of February 29, 2008, set the minimum wage at R$415.00 from March 1, 2008, without indicating a formula in the text. It was converted into Law No. 11,709 of June 19, 2008, which also only sets the value.

    • Medida Provisória nº 421, de 29 de fevereiro de 2008 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “MEDIDA PROVISÓRIA Nº 421, DE 29 DE FEVEREIRO DE 2008. Convertida na Lei nº 11.709, de 2008”
    • Medida Provisória nº 421, de 29 de fevereiro de 2008 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “A partir de 1 o de março de 2008, o salário mínimo será de R$ 415,00 (quatrocentos e quinze reais).”
    • Lei nº 11.709, de 19 de junho de 2008 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph and header. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “LEI Nº 11.709, DE 19 DE JUNHO DE 2008. Conversão da Medida Provisória nº 421, de 2008”

  38. 38. Provisional Measure No. 456 of January 30, 2009, set the minimum wage at R$465.00 from February 1, 2009; it was converted into Law No. 11,944 of May 28, 2009. The Statement of Reasons says that the value results from the INPC from March 2008 to January 2009 and a real increase corresponding to the real GDP growth of 2007.

    • Medida Provisória nº 456, de 30 de janeiro de 2009 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph and art. 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “A partir de 1 o de fevereiro de 2009, o salário mínimo será de R$ 465,00 (quatrocentos e sessenta e cinco reais).”
    • Medida Provisória nº 456, de 30 de janeiro de 2009 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “MEDIDA PROVISÓRIA Nº 456, DE 30 DE JANEIRO DE 2009. Convertida na Lei nº 11.944, de 2009”
    • Lei nº 11.944, de 28 de maio de 2009 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: epigraph. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “LEI Nº 11.944, DE 28 DE MAIO DE 2009.”
    • Exposição de Motivos Interministerial nº 0003/MTE/MPS/MP/MF, de 28 de janeiro de 2009 (MP 456/2009) · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Government communication
      Where: item 2. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Esse novo valor proposto para o salário mínimo decorre de reajuste pela variação acumulada do Índice Nacional de Preços ao Consumidor – INPC, no período de março de 2008 a janeiro de 2009, e de percentual a título de aumento real, correspondente ao crescimento real do PIB no ano de 2007.”

  39. 39. Decrees regulating Law No. 13,152/2015 set the minimum wage at R$880.00 (Decree 8,618/2015, Dilma Rousseff, from January 1, 2016), R$937.00 (Decree 8,948/2016, Michel Temer, 2017), R$954.00 (Decree 9,255/2017, Michel Temer, 2018), and R$998.00 (Decree 9,661/2019, Jair Bolsonaro, 2019).

    • Decreto nº 8.618, de 29 de dezembro de 2015 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1 and signature. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “A partir de 1º de janeiro de 2016, o salário mínimo será de R$ 880,00 (oitocentos e oitenta reais).”
    • Decreto nº 8.948, de 29 de dezembro de 2016 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “A partir de 1º de janeiro de 2017, o salário mínimo será de R$ 937,00 (novecentos e trinta e sete reais).”
    • Decreto nº 9.255, de 29 de dezembro de 2017 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “A partir de 1º de janeiro de 2018, o salário mínimo será de R$ 954,00 (novecentos e cinquenta e quatro reais).”
    • Decreto nº 9.661, de 1º de janeiro de 2019 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “A partir de 1º de janeiro de 2019, o salário mínimo será de R$ 998,00 (novecentos e noventa e oito reais).”
    • Decreto nº 8.618, de 29 de dezembro de 2015 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: signature. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “DILMA ROUSSEFF Nelson Barbosa”
    • Decreto nº 8.618, de 29 de dezembro de 2015 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: preamble. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “e tendo em vista o disposto no art. 2º da Lei nº 13.152, de 29 de julho de 2015, DECRETA:”
    • Decreto nº 8.948, de 29 de dezembro de 2016 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: signature. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “MICHEL TEMER Henrique Meirelles”
    • Decreto nº 9.255, de 29 de dezembro de 2017 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: signature. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “MICHEL TEMER Eduardo Refinetti Guardia”
    • Decreto nº 9.661, de 1º de janeiro de 2019 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: signature. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “JAIR MESSIAS BOLSONARO Paulo Guedes”

  40. 40. The minimum wage was set at R$1,100.00 from January 1, 2021 (Law No. 14,158/2021, conversion of MP No. 1,021/2020) and at R$1,212.00 from January 1, 2022 (Law No. 14,358/2022, conversion of MP No. 1,091/2021). According to the statements of reasons, the values correspond to the INPC variation in the period from January to December: 5.22% in 2020 and 10.02% in 2021, calculated with IBGE results through November and an estimate for December.

  41. 41. Provisional Measure No. 1,143 of December 12, 2022, signed by Jair Bolsonaro, set the minimum wage at R$1,302.00 from January 1, 2023. The Statement of Reasons says that the value corresponds to the estimated INPC of 5.81% for 2022 plus a real gain of about 1.5%, keeping the value provided for in the PLOA.

  42. 42. Provisional Measure No. 1,172 of May 1, 2023, signed by Lula, set the minimum wage at R$1,320.00 from May 1, 2023 and revoked MP No. 1,143/2022. The Statement of Reasons says that R$1,320.00 corresponds to the 2022 value (R$1,212.00) plus the 2022 INPC (5.9%) and an additional real gain of 2.8%.

  43. 43. Based on Law No. 14,663/2023, decrees signed by Lula set the minimum wage at R$1,412.00 from January 1, 2024 (Decree No. 11,864/2023), R$1,518.00 from January 1, 2025 (Decree No. 12,342/2024, which also cites art. 4 of Law No. 15,077/2024), and R$1,621.00 from January 1, 2026 (Decree No. 12,797/2025, which cites Law No. 15,077/2024).

    • Decreto nº 11.864, de 27 de dezembro de 2023 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: preamble and art. 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “e tendo em vista o disposto na Lei nº 14.663, de 28 de agosto de 2023, DECRETA : Art. 1º A partir de 1º de janeiro de 2024, o valor do salário mínimo será de R$ 1.412,00 (mil quatrocentos e doze reais).”
    • Decreto nº 12.342, de 30 de dezembro de 2024 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: preamble and art. 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “e tendo em vista o disposto na Lei nº 14.663, de 28 de agosto de 2023, e no art. 4º da Lei nº 15.077, de 27 de dezembro de 2024, DECRETA : Art. 1º A partir de 1º de janeiro de 2025, o valor do salário mínimo será de R$ 1.518,00 (mil quinhentos e dezoito reais).”
    • Decreto nº 12.797, de 23 de dezembro de 2025 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: preamble and art. 1. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “e tendo em vista o disposto na Lei nº 14.663, de 28 de agosto de 2023, e na Lei nº 15.077, de 27 de dezembro de 2024, DECRETA : Art. 1º A partir de 1º de janeiro de 2026, o valor do salário mínimo será de R$ 1.621,00 (mil seiscentos e vinte e um reais).”
    • Decreto nº 12.797, de 23 de dezembro de 2025 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: signatures. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA Dario Carnevalli Durigan Simone Nassar Tebet Luiz Marinho”

  44. 44. According to a special note by DIEESE (a union advisory entity, 2023), the Protocol of Intent of December 2006 between the confederations and the federal government provided for the April 2007 adjustment based on the inflation accumulated in the previous twelve months and on GDP growth in 2005, and, until January 2011, the adjustment was based on the criteria defined in that protocol, through a series of provisional measures. This is the version of the union source.

  45. 45. According to Senate Discussion Paper No. 79 (October 2010), even though PL No. 1/2007 had not been converted into law, the Planalto Palace had been following, on a discretionary basis, the rules established in it in the increases granted since 2007; the author attributes the stalling of the bill to the amendment by Senator Paulo Paim that extends minimum wage adjustments to Social Security benefits, which the government had been managing to block on the floor of the Chamber of Deputies.

  46. 46. Decrees signed by Dilma Rousseff regulating Law No. 12,382/2011 set the minimum wage at R$622.00 from January 1, 2012 (Decree No. 7,655/2011), R$678.00 in 2013 (Decree No. 7,872/2012), R$724.00 in 2014 (Decree No. 8,166/2013), and R$788.00 in 2015 (Decree No. 8,381/2014).

    • Decreto nº 7.655, de 23 de dezembro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic Official legal act
      Where: summary and art. 1. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “A partir de 1º de janeiro de 2012, o salário mínimo será de R$ 622,00 (seiscentos e vinte e dois reais).”
    • Decreto nº 7.655, de 23 de dezembro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic Official legal act
      Where: summary. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Regulamenta a Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011, que dispõe sobre o valor do salário mínimo e a sua política de valorização de longo prazo.”
    • Decreto nº 7.872, de 26 de dezembro de 2012 · Presidency of the Republic Official legal act
      Where: art. 1. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “A partir de 1º de janeiro de 2013, o salário mínimo será de R$ 678,00 (seiscentos e setenta e oito reais).”
    • Decreto nº 8.166, de 23 de dezembro de 2013 · Presidency of the Republic Official legal act
      Where: art. 1. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “A partir de 1º de janeiro de 2014, o salário mínimo será de R$ 724,00 (setecentos e vinte e quatro reais).”
    • Decreto nº 8.381, de 29 de dezembro de 2014 · Presidency of the Republic Official legal act
      Where: art. 1. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “A partir de 1º de janeiro de 2015, o salário mínimo será de R$ 788,00 (setecentos e oitenta e oito reais).”
    • Decreto nº 8.381, de 29 de dezembro de 2014 · Presidency of the Republic Official legal act
      Where: signature. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Brasília, 29 de dezembro de 2014; 193º da Independência e 126º da República. DILMA ROUSSEFF”

  47. 47. Estimate in the Statement of Reasons for MP No. 116/2003: budgetary and financial impact in 2003 of R$4.455 billion on Social Security, R$1.128 billion on Unemployment Insurance, and R$279 million on PIS/PASEP allowances, a total of R$5.862 billion; the 2003 LOA already provided R$4.777 billion and the additional amount would be covered by spending freezes and reallocation.

  48. 48. Impact estimates in the statements of reasons: R$2,222.3 million in 2004 (MP 182); R$5,296 million in 2005 (MP 248); about R$9.4 billion in 2006 (R$7.8 billion in Social Security and Assistance and R$1.5 billion in unemployment insurance and allowance; MP 288); R$5,751.8 million on Union expenditures in 2007 (MP 362).

  49. 49. Impact estimates in the statements of reasons: R$5.303 billion on Union expenditures in 2008 (MP 421); in 2010, R$7.775 billion in the RGPS (net) and R$2.091 billion in INSS assistance benefits (MP 474), whose total appears written as "R$ 9.866 bilhões" in the text.

  50. 50. According to the Statement of Reasons for MP 916/2019, for each gross increase of R$1.00 in the minimum wage, expenditures on Social Security Benefits, Allowance and Unemployment Insurance, and BPC/RMV rise by approximately R$355.5 million for 2020, with a net impact of R$319.1 million. According to the Statement of Reasons for MP 1,172/2023, for the change in the minimum wage from R$1,302.00 to R$1,320.00 from May 2023, the Secretariat of the General Social Security Regime calculated an additional total impact of R$3.3 billion in 2023, R$4.8 billion in 2024, and R$4.9 billion in 2025.

    • Exposição de Motivos nº 00409/2019 ME, de 30 de dezembro de 2019 (MP 916/2019) · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Government communication
      Where: PDF p. 1 to 2, item 5. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “a cada aumento bruto de R$ 1,00 naquele parâmetro, as despesas com Benefícios da Previdência, Abono e Seguro Desemprego”
    • Exposição de Motivos nº 00409/2019 ME, de 30 de dezembro de 2019 (MP 916/2019) · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Government communication
      Where: PDF p. 2, item 5. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “elevam-se aproximadamente em R$ 355,5 milhões, para 2020; R$ 366,2 milhões, para 2021; e R$ 377,1 milhões, para 2022. Já o impacto líquido, ou seja, considerando o ganho na Receita Previdenciária, é de R$ 319,1 milhões, R$ 328,7 milhões e R$ 338,6 milhões, para 2020, 2021 e 2022, respectivamente.”
    • Exposição de Motivos Interministerial nº 00054/2023 MF MPS MPO MTE, de 28 de abril de 2023 (MP 1.172/2023) · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Government communication
      Where: PDF p. 2, item 7. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Considerando a mudança no valor do salário mínimo de R$ 1.302,00 para R$ 1.320,00 a partir de maio/2023, a Secretaria do Regime Geral de Previdência Social, do Ministério da Previdência Social, calculou impacto total adicional de R$ 3,3 bilhões em 2023, de R$ 4,8 bilhões em 2024, e de R$ 4,9 bilhões em 2025.”

  51. 51. Estimate in EMI No. 001/2007 (PL No. 1/2007): the total budgetary and financial impact of the minimum wage increase in 2007 on Union expenditures was estimated at R$5,927.4 million, already allocated in the 2007 LOA; the EMI for MP No. 362/2007, from March, estimated R$5,751.8 million. The EMI for the PL estimated about 42.9 million people with affected income (26.5 million workers earning up to one minimum wage, PNAD 2005, and 16.4 million Social Security beneficiaries).

  52. 52. Estimate in the Statement of Reasons for MP No. 516/2010: net budgetary and financial impact of the minimum wage increase of R$5.148 billion on the General Social Security Regime in 2011 and R$1.332 billion on assistance benefits maintained by INSS, a total of R$6.48 billion, allocated in the 2011 budget bill.

    • Exposição de Motivos Interministerial nº 00038/MTE/MPS/MF/MPO, de 23 de dezembro de 2010 (MP nº 516/2010) · Presidency of the Republic Official record
      Where: item 4. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “impacto orçamentário-financeiro líquido do aumento do salário mínimo no Regime Geral de Previdência Social em 2011 foi estimado em R$ 5,148 bilhões. Nos benefícios assistenciais mantidos pelo Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social o impacto foi estimado em R$ 1,332 bilhões no mesmo ano, totalizando, no conjunto, impacto de R$ 6,48 bilhões.”

  53. 53. Calculation by DIEESE (a union entity), in a table with nominal adjustment, INPC, and real increase: between 2003 and 2010, the real increase in the minimum wage was 53.67%. According to DIEESE, almost all of this real increase (51.25 percentage points) was won after the mobilization of the Confederations.

  54. 54. Calculation by DIEESE (a union entity, 2019), deflated by the INPC-IBGE: with the value set in January 2019, the minimum wage has accumulated, since May 2004, a real increase of 74.33%; in the 2017 and 2018 adjustments, the adjustment percentage was lower than the INPC-IBGE, imposing a loss of 0.34%.

    • Salário mínimo de 2019 é fixado em R$ 998,00 (Nota Técnica nº 201) · DIEESE: Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (union entity) Academic study
      Where: PDF p. 3. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Com o valor fixado em janeiro de 2019, o salário mínimo acumula, desde maio de 2004, aumento real de 74,33%.”
    • Salário mínimo de 2019 é fixado em R$ 998,00 (Nota Técnica nº 201) · DIEESE: Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (union entity) Academic study
      Where: PDF p. 3. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Nos dois anos subsequentes, entretanto, o percentual de reajuste que recaiu sobre o salário mínimo foi inferior ao INPC-IBGE – 0,1%, em 2017, e -0,25, em 2018, impondo-lhe perda de 0,34%.”

  55. 55. According to DIEESE (a union entity, 2009), with the INPC as deflator: in 2003 the adjustment was 20.00% against inflation of 18.54% (a real increase of 1.23%); in 2006, 16.67% against inflation of 3.21% (a real increase of 13.04%); from 2003 to February 2009 the accumulated real gain would be 44.95%, with a nominal variation of 132.50% against inflation of 60.40%.

  56. 56. Engbom and Moser (May 2021 version) combine administrative and survey data with an equilibrium labor market model and conclude that the rise in the minimum wage accounts for one third of the 25.9 log point decline in the variance of log earnings in Brazil since 1994. Using the variation across states in how binding the federal minimum is, they show that a higher minimum is associated with lower inequality up to at least the 70th percentile. The quantitative result depends on the model; the regional evidence is one of association.

  57. 57. Derenoncourt, Gerard, Lagos, and Montialoux (NBER Working Paper 34445, November 2025, not peer reviewed) study the near doubling of the real minimum wage in Brazil from 2000 to 2009, a period that includes years before the first Lula government. Using a difference-in-differences design that exploits the variation, across states and sectors, in the reach of the adjustment, they find nearly full pass-through of the minimum wage to informal employees of formal firms, about half of informal workers, and a small elasticity (-0.28) of reallocation of employment from the formal to the informal sector with respect to the formal wage.

  58. 58. The statements of reasons of 2004 and 2009 say that the value of the minimum wage results from the effort to reconcile the improvement of the population's living conditions with the limitations imposed by the Union budget, in particular those arising from the increase in spending on Social Security benefits (in 2009, benefits paid by Social Security and other expenditures of a mandatory nature).

  59. 59. A literature review by Ipea (Discussion Paper 1168, 2006, Gabriel Ulyssea and Miguel Nathan Foguel) concludes that there is consensus regarding the effect of the minimum wage in reducing inequality in the wage distribution of those who remain employed; that there seems to be a negative but small effect of the minimum wage on employment; that the negative impacts seem to fall more strongly on the informal sector, although the effect remains of small magnitude; and that preliminary evidence suggests that the minimum wage has a significant effect on the probability of moving from formal to informal employment.

  60. 60. According to the Statement of Reasons for MP No. 1,172/2023, the minimum wage went without a real adjustment in recent years, and the minimum wage is an important signal for other labor incomes, positively affecting even earnings in the informal sector.

  61. 61. In the Statement of Reasons E.M.I. No. 1-MPS/MTE/MF/MP of April 2, 2003, which presented a proposal for a provisional measure to adjust the minimum wage value as of April 1, 2003, the signatory ministers estimated inflation (INPC) from April 2002 to March 2003 at about 18% and a real gain of about 1.7%, and stated that the government was consolidating 'the first phase of the project of tirelessly seeking, throughout its term, the doubling of the real value of the minimum wage'. This is a stated objective, not a result.

  62. 62. According to Congresso em Foco (December 27, 2006), the union confederations signed that day, at the Planalto Palace, the agreement on the minimum wage adjustment and the correction of the Income Tax table, together with President Lula and ministers Nelson Machado (Social Security) and Luiz Marinho (Labor); the agreement raised the minimum wage from R$350 to R$380 and corrected the income tax table by 4.6%. Minister Luiz Marinho's article speaks of a correction of 4.5% per year from 2007 to 2010.

  63. 63. In the assessment of the author of Senate Discussion Paper No. 79, the joint commission's proposal to move the 2007 adjustment up to March and move the base date back one month per year until January was adopted in toto in the government's PL No. 1/2007, and President Lula closed the agreement with the workers based on the report approved in Congress; the author observes that the bill's justification omits the role of the joint commission. This is the author's interpretation.

  64. 64. According to a technical note from DIEESE (a union advisory entity, 2009), a Protocol of Intent signed on January 24, 2006 between six union confederations and six ministers set the sending to Congress of the proposal for a minimum wage of R$350.00 as of April 2006 and the resumption of the Quadripartite Commission. The Statement of Reasons of MP 288/2006 says that the value was discussed 'with the participation of the union confederations'.

  65. 65. A DIEESE technical note (a union entity, 2019) attributes the appreciation policy to the joint action of the union confederations in the "Marches to Brasília," held annually from 2004 to 2009, and says that the third March, at the end of 2006, through negotiation with the then Minister of Labor, secured the 2007 increase and the adoption of the policy to take effect from 2008. This is the version of the union source.

    • Salário mínimo de 2019 é fixado em R$ 998,00 (Nota Técnica nº 201) · DIEESE: Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (union entity) Academic study
      Where: PDF p. 2, section "The negotiated policy and the minimum wage appreciation law". Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “A política de valorização do salário mínimo foi conquistada como resultado da ação conjunta das Centrais Sindicais, por meio das “Marchas a Brasília”, realizadas anualmente entre 2004 e 2009.”
    • Salário mínimo de 2019 é fixado em R$ 998,00 (Nota Técnica nº 201) · DIEESE: Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (union entity) Academic study
      Where: PDF p. 2. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Com a terceira Marcha, no final de 2006, e por meio de negociação com o então ministro do Trabalho, foram conquistados o aumento do valor do salário mínimo de 2007 e a adoção de uma política de valorização desta remuneração, a vigorar a partir de 2008.”

  66. 66. Law No. 12,382/2011 determined that the adjustments and increases be established by the Executive Branch by decree, provided for sending, by December 31, 2015, a bill for 2016 to 2019, and ordered the establishment of an interministerial group, under the coordination of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, to monitor and evaluate the policy.

    • Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 3. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Os reajustes e aumentos fixados na forma do art. 2º serão estabelecidos pelo Poder Executivo, por meio de decreto, nos termos desta Lei.”
    • Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 4. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Até 31 de dezembro de 2015, o Poder Executivo encaminhará ao Congresso Nacional projeto de lei dispondo sobre a política de valorização do salário mínimo para o período compreendido entre 2016 e 2019, inclusive.”
    • Lei nº 12.382, de 25 de fevereiro de 2011 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 5. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Poder Executivo constituirá grupo interministerial, sob coordenação do Ministério do Trabalho e Emprego, encarregado de definir e implementar sistemática de monitoramento e avaliação da política de valorização do salário mínimo.”

  67. 67. Law No. 14,663/2023 (art. 4) determines that the adjustments and increases be established by the federal Executive Branch by decree, which will publish each year the monthly, daily (1/30), and hourly (1/220) values. The same law changed the monthly personal income tax (IRPF) table from May 2023.

    • Lei nº 14.663, de 28 de agosto de 2023 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 4. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Os reajustes e os aumentos fixados na forma do art. 3º desta Lei serão estabelecidos pelo Poder Executivo federal por meio de decreto, nos termos desta Lei.”
    • Lei nº 14.663, de 28 de agosto de 2023 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 4, sole paragraph. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “observado que o valor diário corresponderá a 1/30 (um trinta avos) e o valor horário a 1/220 (um duzentos e vinte avos) do valor mensal.”
    • Lei nº 14.663, de 28 de agosto de 2023 · Presidency of the Republic (Planalto) Official legal act
      Where: art. 5 (new wording of art. 1 of Law 11,482/2007). Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “X - a partir do mês de maio do ano-calendário de 2023:”

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