Article
Gender Equality, Community Divisions and Autonomy: The Prospera Conditional Cash Transfer Program in Chiapas, Mexico
Current Sociology
(2015)
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 Prosperareinforces 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.
Keywords
- Chiapas,
- Community Autonomy,
- Conditional Cash Transfers,
- Gender Equality,
- Indigenous Mayan Communities,
- Mexico,
- Racial Hierarchy,
- Autonomie Communautaire,
- Communautés Mayas Autochtones,
- Égalité Sexuelle,
- Hiérarchie Raciale,
- Mexique,
- Transferts D’argent Conditionnel,
- Comunidad Autonomía,
- Equidad De Género,
- Indígenas Comunidades Mayas,
- Jerarquía Racial,
- México,
- Transferencias Monetarias Condicionadas
Disciplines
Publication Date
July, 2015
DOI
10.1177/0011392115593785
Publisher Statement
Awarded the Social Sciences Article Prize by the Latin American Studies Association Mexico Section.
Citation Information
Gil-García, Óscar F., "Gender Equality, Community Divisions and Autonomy: The Prospera Conditional Cash Transfer Program in Chiapas, Mexico" (2015). Human Development Faculty Scholarship. 9.
https://orb.binghamton.edu/hdev_fac/9