ABSTRACT
This chapter presents some reflections on access to and effects of cash transfer programs (both conditional and non-conditional cash transfers) among the Kalapalo, speakers of a variation of the Karib language in the Upper Xingu region (Mato Grosso, Brazil). The Kalapalo, like many other Brazilian indigenous peoples, are undergoing a process of rapid and intense transformation related to their access to the world of commodities. This process is to some extent a reflection of the increase in the inflow of money, which has gained even greater proportions with the expansion of conditional cash transfer programs. The ethnographic account presented here shows us that it is not possible to predict all the effects of these types of policy on local communities, since they depends on cultural norms and sociality. Among the Kalapalo, on one hand, social benefits make it easier for people to reside in the villages without the need of going to the cities to work. At the same time, the benefits’ own requirements end up obligating Kalapalo people to visit the city on a more frequent basis in order to manage the money. This combination – residing in the countryside but visiting the city – leads to tensions that are explored in this chapter.
