Progresa / Oportunidades / Prospera (PROSPERA Programa de Inclusión Social)
A national conditional cash transfer program launched in 1997 as Progresa, renamed Oportunidades in 2002, and renamed again to Prospera in 2014, providing bimonthly cash transfers to low-income households in exchange for school attendance and regular health check-ups. It was the world's first large-scale national CCT program and became a global model for conditional cash transfer design, eventually reaching over 6 million households (roughly a quarter of Mexico's population). The program was discontinued by the López Obrador administration in 2019, with its education-scholarship function absorbed into the unconditional Becas para el Bienestar Benito Juárez program and its health component folded into IMSS-Bienestar.
Landmark program, Conditional cash transfer, Education, Health, Nutrition, World's first national CCT, Rural and urban poverty, Renamed multiple times, Discontinued
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Secretaría de Desarrollo Social (SEDESOL) / Coordinación Nacional de PROSPERA, Federal Government of Mexico
- City
- Mexico City
- Country
- Mexico
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Inactive
- Program status
- Inactive
- Number of recipients
- 6,800,000
- Funding type
- Government
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- MXN
- Payment frequency
- Biweekly
- How long the program lasts
- 264 months
- Distribution Type
- Direct Deposit, Cash at temporary payment modules (rural areas), Debit Card (later years)
- Benefit details
Cash transfers were variable by household composition, calculated based on number and grade level of school-age children and number of women/pregnant or lactating mothers in the household, paid bimonthly (every two months) directly to the female head of household. Education grants ('becas') increased with grade level and were higher for girls than boys at the secondary level to offset higher female dropout rates; amounts ranged from roughly 105 pesos/month (~$9.50) in early grades to 660+ pesos/month (~$60) by upper-secondary. Health/nutrition support included a fixed food supplement, nutritional supplements for children and pregnant/lactating women, and university scholarships and financial literacy/microloan components added under Prospera (2014).
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Households were selected through a geographic targeting process (identifying high-marginalization localities via national census/marginalization indices) combined with a proxy-means test administered via household socioeconomic surveys (ENCASEH). Eligible households had to fall below a designated welfare/poverty line. Once certified, households received transfers conditional on: children's regular school enrollment and attendance (primary through upper-secondary), family members' attendance at preventive health check-ups and health education talks, and (for children under 5 and pregnant/lactating women) use of nutritional supplements.
Demographics
- Education level
- Preschool, Elementary, Middle School, High School
Family
- Family Status
- Parent, Expecting
Citizenship
- Citizenship / immigration status
- Citizen
Geography
- Countries covered
- Mexico
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Optional
- Complementary program enrollment required
- Seguro Popular (health insurance), IMSS-Prospera/IMSS-Bienestar health services, savings/microloan programs (under Prospera phase, 2014-2019)
- Research / participation requirements
Not a formal research requirement for beneficiaries, but the program was extensively used as a research platform: rollout used a randomized phase-in design (1997-98) that generated one of the largest experimental evaluation datasets in development economics, and program administrative/survey data has been shared with academic researchers and evaluators (e.g., IFPRI, World Bank, INSP) for ongoing impact evaluation throughout the program's life.
Application Process
- How to apply
Households did not self-apply in the conventional sense; program administrators identified high-marginalization rural and (from 2001) urban localities through census/marginalization data, then conducted door-to-door household socioeconomic surveys (ENCASEH) to determine eligibility via proxy-means testing. Eligible households were then formally incorporated ('incorporación') and certified as beneficiaries.
- Selection process
Two-stage targeting: (1) geographic targeting of marginalized localities using national marginalization indices, and (2) household-level proxy-means testing using survey data to classify households as poor/eligible. Selection and re-certification were periodically reviewed and audited by an independent National Coordination body with technical autonomy from SEDESOL.
