Between universality and targeting. The experience of conditional cash transfers and the role of the trade union movement in Argentina

DOBRUSIN BRUNO

Mumbai

Conferencia; International Centre for Decent Work Annual Thematic Conference; 2013

Tata Institute of Social Sciences

P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); widows: 2; orphans: 2; }A:link { color: rgb(0, 0, 255); } This essay brings to fore the necessary discussion on the role the state has to play in social policies, and therefore in providing for its people. The predominant neoliberal perspective that delinked the state from essential functioning of society led also to the implementation of ?efficient? targeted social policies that help only certain sectors of society. In societies like Latin America and Argentina have, with widespread poverty and lack of state support, the need to produce universal policies is fundamental to the human development of the population. The impressive macroeconomic development and advances in poverty reduction strategy are ideal complements to the implementation of such redistributionist policies that affect the entire population. It is an irony that in the presence of leftists? governments, most of them coming from grassroots, working-class movements, policies are still considered in a targeted form. Argentina is a crucial case in this