A Study about Human Development Program Oportunidade
The purpose of this research is to use the case study approach to determine how coordination is achieved in the Program for Human Development: Oportunidades (Opportunities). Oportunidades is the largest anti-poverty program in Mexico. The program has its origins in the Program for Education, Health and Nutrition (Programa de Educación, Salud y Alimentación, PROGRESA) implemented in 1997 under the administration of former President Ernesto Zedillo. In 2002 the new elected government change its name to Oportunidades without any substantial changes in its operation. The Program began in 1997 serving 300 thousand families; today 5 million people are enrolled (Sedesol, 2007b). This means that one of every four Mexicans receives Oportunidades.
Inter-agency coordination has been repeatedly identified in the literature as a factor of success in social policy programs; however, the majority of the studies do not address this subject directly. This dissertation identifies and analyzes how interinstitutional coordination of social programs is achieved in Mexico, in particular through the case study of the Human Development Program Oportunidades. There is a consensus that poverty must be addressed with a multidimensional approach, and, given the inability of an office or governmental unit to satisfy all the needs of a target population, coordination becomes necessary (Whetten, 1982). Mexico implemented its first anti-poverty programs in 1970 in response to the increase in rural poverty. Levy (1994) states that, in general, anti-poverty programs are designed to attack the causes of poverty and/or to mitigate the effects of poverty; also, they require an accurate identification of their target population. keep reading…









