ABSTRACT
The Oportunidades programme was referent in the fight against poverty during the period 2002–2014 in Mexico. CCT programmes prioritise women to be the main recipient of cash transfers. However, Oportunidades dismissed a gender perspective leading to women empowerment, leaving them in a vulnerable position. This research addresses empowerment through three dimensions: personal, collective and close relationship. This chapter follows a qualitative methodology by applying semi-structured in-depth interviews to young woman beneficiaries in Tulancingo de Bravo, Mexico. We must recognise that the Oportunidades’ cash transfer gave women confidence and decision-making into the household, but it was not enough to get women empowerment. Besides, the conditionalities could be generating stress, fatigue, overload of activities even reducing their chances of incorporation into the labour market. However, the CCT programmes seem to have potential to empower women, reinforcing the anti-poverty strategy.
