Gender equality, community divisions, and autonomy: The Prospera conditional cash transfer program in Chiapas, Mexico

Abstract

This article examines the gender equality component of Prospera, a conditional cash transfer program in Mexico that provides cash contingent on three nodes of civic engagement: health, nutrition and education. This article draws on ethnographic research in La Gloria, a settlement of indigenous Mayan refugees from Guatemala in the Mexican state of Chiapas. I identify the Prospera program's neoliberal features, the impact its gender equality measures have in the lives of women, their families, and in the political structure of the community of La Gloria. My findings reveal how Prospera reinforces gender and racial hierarchy, fosters community divisions that undercuts efforts to promote community autonomy, which raises questions about the ability of conditional cash transfers to promote development and gender equality in indigenous communities in Mexico.

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“…Prospera is a Mexican conditional cash transfer program, with a national commitment to nutrition, health and education (Gil-Garcia, 2015). These findings agrees with FAO et al (2015) who informs that with no public assistance, numerous poor and vulnerable households will suffer lasting deprivations that would result in poverty for future generations.…”

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