Progress Against Poverty: Sustaining Mexico’s Progresa-Oportunidades Program

Since its creation in 1997 by Santiago Levy, Mexico’s anti-poverty program “Progresa-Oportunidades” has received widespread attention and acclaim for its success in helping more than five million poor families break out of poverty. With its comprehensive focus on nutrition, health, education and evaluation, Progresa-Oportunidades is being considered for replication across the globe, as other countries and cities search for effective ways to help end the cycle of poverty.

On January 8, the Wolfensohn Center for Development hosted a discussion with Santiago Levy, former Mexican Deputy Minister of Finance, about his book Progress Against Poverty. Levy analyzed the factors contributing to the success of the program and the challenges in further implementation. Following his remarks, leading experts discussed how the program has influenced the spread of similar anti-poverty initiatives in other countries.