Oportunidades, a succesful case of social policy

At 15 years of its creation, Oportunidades has lead to noteworthy changes in the lives of its beneficiaries. The positive impacts on education, health and nutrition of families living in extreme poverty conditions have given the Program wide recognition.

Organizations such as the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the United Nations for Children’s Fund have graded Oportunidades as a successful social policy and a role model to follow by other countries in order to reduce extreme poverty conditions.

Oportunidades has proved to be a resultful policy that helps families develop human capital, thus encouraging them to achieve a better living.

Impact on health and nutrition

• Strengthening of the social net by the creation of 75,000 Communitarian Promotion Committees, which are elected democratically by the beneficiaries in each locality, their members (vocals) become a permanent link between the families and the Program. Therefore volunteer groups of more than 300, 000 vocales is conformed, its members resemble the complete population of Celaya.


• Design and distribution to the entirety of the beneficiary population, of the Guide “Let’s learn together how to live better” and various audiovisuals, through which our beneficiaries can obtain a more comprehensive approach to different topics such as: gender equality, financial promotion, values and self esteem.


• Availability of more than 200 zone in indigenous regions, where help and guidance it’s provided in their native language by bilingual promoters whom are in the process of obtaining their certification through CONOCER.


• Transition from paper surveys – every family in order to be incorporated must answer a demographic and socioeconomic survey - to data gathered by personal digital assistants (PDA) connected and referenced via satellite thus saving time and diminish possible data recording mistakes. The traditional survey took approximately 90 days today it only takes 50 minutes.


• Through PDAs, the Program has achieved immediate and in situ resolutions to more than 60% of conflicts presented by beneficiaries. Before these electronic devices were used, any consultation took 4 – 6 months to be received.


• In 6 months, world record timing, bank cards were delivered to 6.5 million Oportunidades and PAL´s beneficiaries, totaling a weekly delivery of 250, 000 cards in more than 140,000 localities nationwide. Debid and prepaid cards have a fingerprint identification system linked to a savings account, thus providing financial inclusion.


• The Program went from 7,000 delivery points to 22,000 by 2012 doubling the amount of bank branches around the country. Nowadays 95% of beneficiaries are able to cash their incentives in their own localities or within a distance of no more than 7 kilometers.


• While in 2000 there were only monetary incentives for nutrition, junior high school scholarships and those provided in cover high school teens through “Youth with Oportunidades”. During the present administration incentives such as “Food Aid for Better Living”, “Better Living for Infants” and “Energetic” were introduced; all of which are updated by CONEVAL´s calculation indexes, measuring more effectively prices variations of the main products consumed by the needy.


• The monthly average amount a family could receive went from 259 pesos in the year 2000 to 480 pesos in 2008 and up to 777 pesos by 2012; compared to the year 2000 the average amount has almost tripled.


• Six million boys, girls and teens have build up schooling and tend to have a much different life expectations than their parents had. During the 2012 school year we have hit more than six million grant recipients, while in 2000 we had less than 2.5 million grants, by 2006 it was increased to 5.2 million grant recipients. During the present administration an 800, 000 grant recipient increased has been shown a similar comparison to Campeche´s population.


• The total of women beneficiaries went from 1,227,000 in the year 2000 to 2,637,000 in 2006 and up to 2,978,000 female grant recipients. This increase equals filling eight times Plaza Mexico or three times Azteca´s Stadium.


• In order to guide and advise teens, during the present administration the web portal ¡VAS! Tu red de Oportunidades! was created, thus providing teens with tools and important information about scholarships, job hunting, entertainment, etc.


• Start up of the process of geographically referencing families in urban localities, providing for better service and assistance:


• Re-assigning families to closer health units, thus reducing transportation time and cost.


• Creation of micro zones which will be coordinated by an Area Responsible (RA) in order to integrate family groups so they can attend MAP, thus providing with better quality assistance.


• Starting 2010, for focalization Oportunidades implemented CONEVAL´s incorporation criteria, prioritizing families with kids 21 years and younger and women during their reproductive years living on adverse life conditions which restrain its member´s development.


• In the matter of temporality, Oportunidades will certify again all of its beneficiaries determining if they are still in need of the program. Every year a total of one million 200 thousand households totaling 6 million Mexicans will be certified again.

Oportunidades has proved through the past 15 years of operation to be a resultful policy that helps families develop human capital, thus encouraging them to achieve a better living.

Última actualización:
Martes 2 de octubre de 2012 a las 4:43 pm
por Fernando Irala Burgos