Mexico's Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera programme and the Rise of Social Assistance in Latin America

Main author: Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel
Format: Book Chapters           
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id eprints-37628
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
description This chapter provides an analysis of the political and economic conditions under which Mexico’s Progresa (later renamed as Oportunidades, and more recently as Prospera) was introduced to prelude the rise of social assistance in Latin America. The chapter identifies four distinctive features of the programme that were revolutionary in their own right. First, Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera embraced a multidimensional approach to poverty, linking income transfers with simultaneous interventions in health, education, and nutrition. Second, the programme focused on the poor, in clear contrast to generalized food subsidies that dominated previous antipoverty interventions. Third, the programme followed a complex system of identification and selection of beneficiaries explicitly designed to prevent its political manipulation. Finally, an independent impact evaluation protocol proved to be crucial in strengthening the programme’s legitimacy across different political factions during unprecedented democratic transitions in the country.
author_additional Anand, PB
author_additionalStr Anand, PB
format Book Chapters
author Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel
author_facet Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel
authorStr Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel
author_letter Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel
title Mexico's Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera programme and the Rise of Social Assistance in Latin America
publisher Oxford University Press
publishDate 2020
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/37628/