Under his government, two million homes received electric power for the first time, 11 million very poor families gained the support of a minimum income (the Bolsa Família), the minimum salary grew 45% in real terms, thus benefiting 42 million people. Moreover, eight million jobs were created, 17 million people escaped poverty, and the income of the poorest 50% grew 32% – twice as fast as the income of the richest 10% in the same period.
卢拉还推行了至关重要的社会政策。在以他为首的政府领导下，有两百万家庭首次用上了电，一千一百万极端贫困家庭获得了最低工资补助（家庭补助金计划），最低薪酬按实值计算增长了45%，并因此惠及了四千二百万民众。此外，政府还创造了八百万个就业岗位，帮助一千七百万人实现脱贫，最贫困的半数人口收入增长了32%——这一比率相当于同时期10%最富裕人口收入增长速度的两倍。卢拉在不引发通胀的前提下实现了上述所有目标，因为他知道——这或许来自于他本人贫困的童年经历——通胀带给穷人的灾难最为深重。