Mexico City Congress Approves Measure Against Child Support Debtors
Mexico City, May 7 – The Mexico City Congress has approved a significant measure that will allow the seizure of retirement, advanced age, and old age unemployment sub-account resources from child support debtors. This action will be taken when a judicial resolution in favor of minors exists, aiming to combat economic violence against children.
During a plenary session on Thursday, legislators unanimously approved the initiative with 51 votes in favor, zero abstentions, and zero against. The reforms target the Law of the Retirement Savings System (SAR) and the Law of the Institute of Security and Social Services for State Workers (ISSSTE).
The local Congress’s Board of Directors will now remit the approved document to the Union Congress for it to continue its legislative process at the federal level. Prior to its presentation to the local Legislative Power’s Plenary, the dictamen received approval from the Labor, Work, and Social Welfare Commission.
Addressing a Pressing Social Issue
Legislator Ana Luisa Buendía García, a proponent of the initiative, highlighted alarming statistics from INEGI, stating that three out of four children of separated parents in Mexico do not receive child support. She emphasized that 67.7 percent of households sustained by single mothers lack this fundamental right, leading to systemic economic violence and condemning children to precarious living conditions.
“Voting in favor of this dictamen means closing the door to the simulation of insolvency. We prevent savings for a future old age from being built upon the present hunger of daughters and sons,” Buendía García stated. She further explained that this measure will provide proportionality and certainty by establishing clear limits, ensuring that seizure is an exceptional and just measure that always protects the best interests of the child.
The legislator also noted that the dictamen will promote justice with a gender perspective, acknowledging that the burden of raising children should not fall solely on mothers due to irresponsible parents.
Details of the Reforms and Call to Action
Specifically, the dictamen reforms articles 19, 74, 114, 115, and 117 of the SAR Law, and articles 82 and 83 of the ISSSTE Law. These changes harmonize the legislations with the criteria established by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), ensuring that retirement accounts can no longer serve as a hiding place for child support debtors.
In her closing remarks, Buendía García urged the Union Congress to advance this dictamen, describing it as the definitive key to unlocking alimentary justice for children. “We trust in the sensibility of federal legislators to let this initiative proceed. May the retirement of some no longer be built upon the deprivation of others. Let’s make this reform a reality for all Mexican families. For mothers raising children alone and for the well-being of our children,” she concluded.
This legislative move by the Mexico City Congress marks a significant step towards ensuring financial accountability for child support and protecting the welfare of minors across the country. The focus now shifts to the Union Congress, where the dictamen will undergo further review and debate before potentially becoming federal law.
Source: congresocdmx.gob.mx
