The Brazilian government has unveiled a multi-billion dollar anti-poverty plan to provide jobs and infrastructure in the poorest parts of the country.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the biggest cost to the country was not taxes but a century in which poor people had been forgotten.
The move comes months before important municipal polls are held across Brazil.
The program, which will see some $6 billion spent in 2008 alone, still has to be approved by Congress.
The initiative, known as "Territories of Citizenship", is meant to help around 24 million people, including rural workers and indigenous communities.
The money, which is part of the existing budget, will be used to supply 135 policies, including 15 government departments, that are operating on 958 towns in states across the country.
The government is also promising to finally reach its target in the "Light for Everyone" program to bring electricity to poor communities.
The areas selected for funding are said to be in the 60 regions of Brazil with the lowest rankings on the UN Human Development Index.
Speaking in the capital, Brasilia, on Monday, President Lula called the proposals the "second step to ending poverty".
Brazil already has a major anti-poverty programme, known as Bolsa Familia, that pays a monthly allowance to more than 11 million families.
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