Lawsuit seeks to suspend circulation of Brazil’s 200-real note

November 05, 2020 2 min read

Lawsuit seeks to suspend circulation of Brazil’s 200-real note

By Arthur L. Friedberg,Published: Nov 3, 2020, 8 AM

 A lawsuit in Brazil to suspend circulation of the 200-real bank note was filed on Oct. 9 by the National Public Defender’s office, the Public Defender’s Office of the Federal District, and the National Organization of the Blind in Brazil.

The note, Brazil’s highest in value, was introduced in August.

The news was reported by the Brazilian website fdr.com.br, which bills itself as a “platform aimed at taking issues related to the popular economy in the way it should be: simple, agile and reliable.”

The suit claims that because the new note is the same size as the 20-real note, “people with visual impairments cannot identify the new bill, as it creates exclusionary effects and impairs the exercise of the rights of this community.”

It requests that a fine of 50,000 reais, or about $8,900, per day be imposed for noncompliance.

The Central Bank of Brazil explained to the news service that the two notes were the same size because there was no time for adaptation at the printer, Casa da Moeda, or “for manufacture by a foreign supplier.” Additionally, printing more 100-real bills up to the quantity needed was not feasible because the production capacity of that denomination in 2020 was compromised.

The plaintiffs asked the court to decide on the collection of the 200-real notes that are already in circulation. There were 450 million printed. In addition, it asked that the production of new bank notes be in different sizes than the existing ones.

The original article and others like it can be found at Coin World online