Mexico City, April 28 – The Mexico City Congress, in its eighth ordinary session, approved a significant dictamen aimed at strengthening child support enforcement by allowing the exceptional, partial, and proportional embargo of retirement funds from delinquent debtors. This move seeks to protect the rights of minors and ensure financial stability for families.
Key Approval: Embargo of Retirement Funds for Child Support
The Commission on Labor Affairs, Work, and Social Welfare endorsed a dictamen to amend the laws governing the Retirement Savings Systems (SAR) and the Institute of Security and Social Services for State Workers (ISSSTE). These changes will permit the seizure of funds from the sub-account for retirement, old-age, and old-age cessation, specifically targeting individuals who fail to meet their child support obligations.
Deputy Ana Luisa Buendía García of the MORENA Parliamentary Group initially presented the initiative. Following its approval by the Commission, the bill will now proceed to the Plenary for a vote. If passed, the Mexico City Congress will forward it to the Union Congress for further legislative processing, potentially impacting national child support enforcement.
Harmonizing Protection: Children’s Rights and Financial Justice
Deputy Juan Estuardo Rubio Gualito emphasized that the proposal aims to reconcile the protection of retirement savings with the paramount interest of children, alimentary justice, and a gender perspective. He highlighted that the current regime of inalienability should not be exploited to evade child support responsibilities, especially when debtors claim to lack other embargable assets or intentionally conceal them.
The dictamen, aligning with considerations from the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, asserts that existing administrative restrictions, such as the Registry of Delinquent Child Support Debtors, are insufficient to deter non-compliance. Many parents resort to a dual strategy: terminating formal employment to avoid salary embargoes and invoking the inalienability principle of retirement funds, as outlined in Article 79 of the SAR Law.
The legislative body recognizes that parental non-compliance triggers a cycle of precarization, limiting the autonomy, development, and quality of life for mothers and children. This reform seeks to close these loopholes and provide a more robust legal framework for ensuring children receive the financial support they are entitled to.
Rejection of 40-Hour Workday Proposal
In a separate decision during the virtual session, the Commission approved a negative dictamen regarding a proposal to urge the Federal Congress to convene an extraordinary period to discuss and approve the reduction of the workday to 40 hours. Deputy Rubio Gualito clarified that this exhortation, promoted by Deputy Royfid Torres González, has been superseded by the prior approval of a constitutional reform to reduce the workday to 40 hours.
The Commission determined that regulating working hours falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Union Congress, in accordance with the current constitutional framework. Therefore, the Mexico City Congress lacks the authority to intervene directly in this matter. The negative dictamen effectively dismisses the point of agreement put forth by the Movimiento Ciudadano (MC) legislator.
This legislative session underscores the Mexico City Congress’s commitment to addressing critical social issues, particularly those concerning the welfare of children and the effective enforcement of legal obligations.
