“No Somos Todos Iguales” A Study on How Beneficiaries Experience Receiving the TUS Transfer on a Relational and Symbolic Level
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2019-08-21
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en
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This study aimed to gain further understanding on how the Tarjeta Uruguay Social (TUS) programme
addresses its aim of social inclusion. A study of this kind does not only contribute to the literature on
Conditional Cash Transfer programmes (CCTs), but also in making the voices of the beneficiaries heard,
which can be a valuable input for future design and implementation of these programmes and, more
generally, social protection policies. Furthermore, this research can help to gain a further insight in what
it means to be in a vulnerable situation and how this translates into social and economic disadvantages
in the daily lives of people in such situation, which can help to debunk prejudices and stereotypes by
humanizing and giving flesh to them and their experiences. By making use of a qualitative approach, I
hope to offer a perspective often looked over in social policy heavily oriented by quantitative data. This
study is based on interviews with TUS beneficiaries and observations made while walking around lowincome
neighbourhoods and irregular settlements located in the north-eastern region of Montevideo,
Uruguay. My main argument is that the TUS programme can be seen as tool that enhances the contract
between state and citizens by approaching vulnerable populations, improving their perception and
rapport with the state. It also works towards the social inclusion of its beneficiaries by providing them
with a stable source of income, reducing the uncertainty with which the future is perceived and
strengthening the perception of their citizenship status and their rights in the process. However, the
‘fragile’ legal status of the programme, the uncertainty about the future of social protection in Uruguay,
and stigmatization can be considered as factors that work against the programme’s goal of social
inclusion.
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Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen