Social programs function as investments to build future opportunities

Adal Ortiz Avalos argues that social programs in Mexico should be viewed as long term investments rather than just immediate relief for poverty.

The author suggests that the true value of social assistance lies in its ability to change a person's future by ensuring they can stay in school. He points to ColiBecas, a policy in the Mexican state of Colima, which provides support to students in public schools.

This program aims to remove financial barriers like the cost of supplies and transportation that often force children to drop out of school. Data from the Secretaría de Educación Pública shows that these efforts are producing results in Colima. In the 2023 to 2024 period, the state recorded a 0.1% dropout rate in primary school, meaning more students finished the cycle than started it.

In secondary school, the dropout rate fell from 7.3% in 2021 to 2022 to 4.5% in 2023 to 2024. The state government also reported that some students who left school after the pandemic have returned to their studies. Ortiz Avalos compares these local results to the Bolsa Família program in Brazil, which began in 2003. He notes that by 2025, seven out of ten young people who received the benefit in 2014 were no longer in the program.

He argues that while leaving the program does not automatically mean a person escaped poverty, it opens a conversation about the opportunities created by such support. He concludes that education is an investment that builds the talent needed for future productivity.