THE NEW ENERGY FEATURES OF THE "OPORTUNIDADES" PROGRAM
On January 24, Mexico's President Felipe Calderón announced an upgrade to the social development program Oportunidades, which currently serves 5 million of the country's poorest families. The upgrade consists of 3 billion pesos (US$273 million) of additional resources but is restricted to alleviating the rising costs of energy prices. The 3 billion peso direct transfer will be granted in monthly payments of 50 pesos (US$4.56) per eligible household.
* This conditional cash transfer policy does not necessarily get applied directly to energy bills (and thus benefit energy companies), since the recipient families may use the additional income to cover more immediate needs such as food or transportation.
* This strategy might not represent financial relief for the energy sector as a whole since there is no sign that the aid would replace the subsidies granted by the national companies.
* Regardless of the benefits to poor families from the Oportunidades upgrade, the strategy remains only a reallocation of public spending, with no impact on the energy sector as a whole.
