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Latin American Women's Protection after Adjustment: A Feminist Critique of Conditional Cash Transfers in Chile and Argentina

2010; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 38; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13600818.2010.525327

1469-9966

Constanza Tabbush,

Taxation and Compliance Studies

Abstract This paper analyses conditional cash transfer (CCT) policies in Argentina and Chile from a gender perspective. Policy advocates maintain that, through the income provided by CCTs, women acquire some economic autonomy and empowerment within the household. This positive analysis is, however, tempered by gender-based concerns about the developmental value of conservative appeals to women as "mothers", founded on traditional cultural norms, in regional policy design. Drawing on these two country examples, the objective of the paper is to assess the terms and conditions of women's inclusion as "conduits of policy" in CCTs in the Southern Cone. Findings indicate that the continuity of policy in Chile's anti-poverty strategies locates women as being accountable for family well-being within a multidimensional and psychological vision of poverty. Chile constitutes a radical example of the extension of women's individual responsibilities in managing household poverty with no collective component. By contrast, in Argentina the role of women appears to be dictated more by continuous changes in the state's definition of poverty alleviation, rather than the developmental objective of empowering women. Women's positioning in CCTs could be labelled as bearers of politics, in a context that transfers to women the duty of socially assisting others while rendering their personal needs progressively less visible. Notes Funding for this PhD research was provided by the Institute for the Study of the Americas and the School of Advance Study from the University of London. The author is grateful to both institutions for their support. The author would also like to thank the two anonymous referees of this paper for helpful comments and suggestions. 1 There are national CCT programmes in 15 countries of Latin American, with approximately 20 million households receiving some form of cash transfers (OIT-PNUD, Citation2009). The most salient programmes have been developed in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and Dominican Republic. For general evaluations, see Barrientos & DeJong (Citation2004), de la Briere & Rawlings (Citation2006), International Poverty Centre (IPC) (Citation2006), Rawlings (Citation2004), Rawlings & Rubio (Citation2003), Serrano (Citation2005a), Veras Soares et al. (Citation2006), Valencia (Citation2008) and Villatoro (Citation2004). 2 The first dimension examines whether CCTs help improve women's material situation by fostering different forms of livelihood. This dimension is organized in a continuum that travels from short-term survival and coping strategies (what Lister refers to as "getting by") to the organization of long-term exit routes out of deprivation, generally linked to formal work and education ("getting out"). The second dimension refers to women's attempts to improve their social situation by trying to effect wider social change (Lister, Citation2004, p. 129). This dimension attracts a feminist critiques that stresses CCTs send women back into the private sphere of their homes, fostering weaker social and political participation. The continuum in this dimension of actions ranges from individual everyday forms of resistance, such as those described by the classical work of James Scott (Citation1976), to the exercise of collective agency strategies in the form of political activities, social mobilization and grass-roots activism more generally, denominated in this taxonomy as "getting organized" (Lister, Citation2004, p. 149). 3 This can result in a situation in which even though overall household incomes increase, households may not be economically better off, and the income available to women and children may remain constant or even decrease (Chant, Citation2006, Citation2008; Bradshaw, Citation2008). 4 For instance, the monthly monetary transfer in the Chilean programme equals US$20. However, in Brazil the stipend provided fluctuates between US$42 and US$98, and in Mexico it varies depending on the type and number of students and pensioners, reaching US$200 per month. These values are given in PPP dollars (Soares et al., 2007, quoted in Larrañaga et al., Citation2009). In Argentina, the rate has fluctuated with the different CCT initiatives, starting low and subsequently being significantly increased. The first CCT, Plan Jefes y Jefas (2001–04), provided a stipend of approximately US$39, the second CCT, Plan Familias (2004–09), the focus of this paper, offers a maximum value estimated at approximately US$80, whereas the latest CCT initiative, Asignación Universal por Hijo (October 2009 onwards), provides approximately US$46 per child up to a maximum of five children. Furthermore, in these two countries, since women have entered the labour force en masse, the cash provided by CCT programmes is not poor women's first independent income (Pautassi et al., Citation2004). 5 See AGENDE (Citation2006) and Klein (Citation2005) for Brazil; Bradshaw (Citation2008) and Bradshaw & Quirós Víquez (Citation2003) for Nicaragua; Chant (Citation2006, Citation2008) for Costa Rica; Escobar Latapí & González de la Rocha (2009) and González de la Rocha (Citation2003, Citation2005) for Mexico; Arriagada & Mathivet (Citation2007) and Serrano (Citation2005b) for Chile; Cortés et al. (Citation2004), Pautassi (Citation2004), Rodriguez Enriquez (Citation2006) and Tabbush (Citation2009a, Citationb) for Argentina; and Molyneux (Citation2006, Citation2007, 2008) for Latin America. 6 For this reason, Chant asserts that the main policy implication of CCTs is actually to miss "real empowerment" because they encourage women to be altruistic and family-oriented, instead of promoting a degree of re-negotiation of their position within households (2006, 2008). 7 These are near a quarter of a million in Chile. 8 The Asignación Universal por Hijo was created in October 2009 by Decree 1602/09. 9 The empirical evidence provided combines multiple data sources: on the one hand, an analysis of: the legislation and implementation manuals of these programmes, secondary research and evaluations of programmes, and on the other, two micro-level qualitative research studies in deprived neighbourhoods in the cities of Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile. 10 Families for Social Inclusion Programme. 11 Bridge Programme. 12 An important distinction from Argentina is the absence of a long-term development vision in the successive administrations that has translated into changes in the design, objectives, reach and budget of CCT policies. 13 The greatest amount families receive is 11 429 Chilean pesos per month for the first 6 months after enrolment. Monetary support is offered for 24 months, decreasing every 6 months: in the First Semester it is $11 429 per month; in the Second Semester, $8708 per month; in the Third Semester, $5987 per month; and in the Fourth Semester, $4126 per month (Larrañaga et al., Citation2009). 14 What is meant by this notion of autonomy is not defined in the programmes' regulations (Raczynski, Citation2008). 15 For evaluations, see Carneiro & Galasso (Citation2007), Larrañaga et al. (Citation2009), Galasso (Citation2006), Perticara (Citation2007) and Raczynski (Citation2008). 16 It is worth noting that in Chile in 2003, only 26.3% of households were organized according to the breadwinner model (Arriagada & Mathivet, Citation2007) on which Puente is based. 17 Specific objectives refer to children's health and education, child labour, access to old age pensions, adult literacy education, women's health and birth control. 18 This minimum condition states: in cases of intra-family violence, those directly involved should be incorporated into some support programme (at least to be informed of their options, and in the process of enrolling in a programme). 19 Qualitative evaluations of 150 Puente families reveal that one of their key demands was to develop workshops and specific support in dealing with intra-family violence (Consultorías y Proyectos (CyP), Citation2005). 20 Gender studies on health care in Chile signal the instrumentality of women's contributions to health care provision at the household level (Gideon, Citation2008). These findings show parallels with the main thrust of the argument of this paper. 21 The salience and positive reception of this personal intervention by female beneficiaries has been recorded by various qualitative studies (Nun & Trucco, Citation2008). This not only signals that the psychosocial component is the most valued featured of the programme (Universidad de Chile, Citation2004), but also that the social achievements in the 53 dimensions are directly linked to the quality and duration of this intervention (Larrañaga et al., Citation2009). 22 The board presents a colourful town with various public offices to symbolize mainstream society. There is a nearby river that cuts through the board, and the entrance to this town is provided by a black and white bridge that represents the Puente programme. Finally, at the other side of the river there is a lonely, black and white house that identifies the household of beneficiaries in their social isolation and poverty of resources. 23 This contrasts with the way in which targeting was implemented in Argentina after the economic crisis of 2001, where potential beneficiaries had to seek out the programme, bring the required documentation to support their eligibility and enrol to be considered by state bureaucracies. For a description of the targeting system, see MIDEPLAN (Citation2004). 24 In this sense, women can develop links with the local network of public provision available, but by doing this individually, there is also an erosion of community identities and social bonds (Asesorías para el Desarrollo, Citation2004). 25 A relevant example is the housing cooperative, which is a form of collective association that contributes directly to fulfilment of the minimum conditions outlined in the programme objectives (Nun & Trucco, Citation2008). Another form of association refers to productive cooperatives, or the collective purchase of goods for women's micro-enterprises that would aid the minimum conditions of income and work. 26 Women's relationships with these services continue to be top-down, and the biggest achievement has been only to offer information to women on the existing services (Arriagada & Mathivet, Citation2007). 27 The gender considerations in the training provided signalled that even though beneficiaries were generally women, courses offered did not supply any form of childcare for female participants. 28 The total number of beneficiaries was 450, of which 406 were women. Information provided by FOSIS in 2007. 29 A typical example is the combination of housing needs and the physical space needed to develop small businesses. These productive projects were developed inside women's homes, yet in many of those visited there was no physical space to spare. It was common to find the sewing machines purchased with the start-up fund packed in a corner because it was not possible to operate them in the existing space. 30 For further information, see Superintendencia de Bancos e Instituciones Financieras (Citation2007). 31 Overall programme evaluations concur in pointing out these short-comings in micro-enterprise development (Raczynski, Citation2008). 32 This specific programme was selected because it is the latest CCT applied for which there is substantive information available. 33 This programme was initiated by interim President Eduardo Duhalde (2002–03), and it was later redefined and expanded during the administration of Néstor Kirchner. 34 For a gender analysis of Plan Jefes y Jefas, see Cortés et al. (Citation2004), Di Marco et al. (Citation2006), Pautassi (Citation2004) and Rodriguez Enriquez (Citation2006). 35 Approximately 49 US dollars. 36 Approximately 80 US dollars. 37 Information provided in April 2007 by monitoring of Plan Familias at the MSD, based on the database of beneficiaries of 16 May 2007. 38 Considering there were no feminists involved in its design, Plan Familias can be considered an example of the popularization of modern notions of women's difference, which risk "reflecting back (albeit in inverse fashion) conservative populist ideas about the immutable and unitary nature of women and men" (Beasley, Citation2005, p. 57). It is in this way that the programme elicits a problematic treatment of gender differences and a direct association of women's with family interests through the moralization of gender relations within families. 39 Set at ARS 921 in February 2007 and at 1440 ARS in October 2009. 40 Broader sociological assessments also highlight that, through the 1990s, together with the decline in formal employment, and in an insecure economic environment, livelihood strategies became increasingly diversified and short-term (Merklen, Citation2005). 41 Mostly in the industrial sector and domestic service. 42 This argument is consistent with findings in Bolivia and Ecuador on the contradictions organized women face in their fight for economic and political empowerment in the context of neoliberal development (Lind, Citation2002). This study contests that in these two countries development policies that rely on women's unpaid labour "sometimes contribute to institutionalizing women's struggles for survival rather than merely empowering them, as they hope to do, through their community participation" (Lind, Citation2002, p. 228). 43 Here I am making reference to the distinction between women's practical and strategic interests found in Molyneux (Citation1985). 44 I would like to thank one of the anonymous referees for suggesting this terminology. 45 While men are made responsible for their unemployment. 46 As previous research has shown, an increase in household stipends does not automatically mean women will be better off, because the overall amount available to women and children might stay constant or even decrease (Chant, Citation2006, Citation2008; Bradshaw, Citation2008). Future research in Argentina could shed light on the consequences of increasing the cash provided by CCTs, and the income available to women.