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The aim of this paper is to draw attention on the political origin of the concept of development. It shows that, more than a concept, development could be understood as a paradigm that determines the way we see, define and intervene the world. Moreover, the paper makes a historical review of how gender perspective has been included in the study of poverty, and the resulting policies directed to attend this phenomenon. Additionally, the paper mentions the contributions of gender perspective to the study of poverty in an ampler sense than the intervention one. Finally, it presents further questions about the course that poverty studies with a gender perspective should follow, and the need of a new paradigm -altemative to the development one- that will help us understand, redefine and change social reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on Amartya Sen's theoretical insights, this paper analyzes indigenous women's poverty in the Sierra Negra, Puebla, as well as their development capacity resulting from their participation in the "Sociedad de Productores Indígenas Ecológicos Sierra Negra Sociedad Civil" (SPIESN, S. C.). Data was collected using a quanti-qualitative approach: a survey, eight in-depth interviews, three participatory workshops and field participant observation were conducted. Results indicate that women value literacy, own-income generation, and land ownership. However, they also face structural limitations when attempting to develop capacities in these areas. Their participation in the organization has given positive results to this effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes how women in the state of Guerrero perceive and actualize their lives as impoverished persons. The purpose is to find out how these women experience their conditions of deprivation, how they perceive them and construct representations of them based on their experience as women and gender relations. By paying attention to the voices of impoverished women, one can identify the day-to-day processes of poverty that can deteriorate family and social relationships, but also act as powerful agents, generating creative strategies to mitigate the impact of real life conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]