NYC Seeks Anti-Poverty Tips in Mexico

By LISA J. ADAMS
Associated Press Writer

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg got a firsthand look Tuesday at an anti-poverty program that gives cash grants to poor Mexican families for keeping their children in school and providing regular medical care, looking for tips he might adopt back home.

The Oportunidades program gives cash grants to families for keeping children in school and giving them medical care. It has been lauded by the World Bank and by other countries as a model because it focuses on breaking the cycle of poverty by investing in long-term development.

Bloomberg said that during his trip to Toluca and Mexico City he wanted to study what the Mexicans were doing right so the conditional cash transfer program can succeed in New York, where he has started a pilot program, Opportunity NYC.

"New Yorkers recognize the power of a good idea, and we're here in Toluca today to see firsthand how one good idea - the Oportunidades program - works," Bloomberg told reporters in the city west of the Mexican capital.