Tadeo is only three years old, but at a young age he has already experienced long hours working on the streets of Mexico City. After school every day, he would accompany his father to sell candy, hoping that in addition to good sales, someone would give them food.
“We take about 150 pesos out of the bag every day,” said Tadeo’s father, Irving Trejo, who prays every day to get enough money to eat.
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“I’ve worked on construction sites but they didn’t pay me what they told me and since I had to pay rent it didn’t work out anyway. “I prefer working here because the food is out and they To us, we spend almost no more on food. ”
They travel daily from Indios Verdes to the center of the capital to sell pallets. “Then we go to Rome or La Condesa. They recognize us everywhere and give us food or clothes.”
Although Tadeo was hospitalized with acute bronchitis, which made him more susceptible to respiratory illnesses, he accompanied his father to work every day because there was no one else to care for him.
“After he left kindergarten around three in the afternoon, we went out to sell things and worked until nightfall. It’s difficult now because it’s so cold and then it rains. He’s often sick, which now means being exposed to the cold and the sun Next. When he falls asleep, it’s difficult for me because I have to hold him.”
Tadeo is one of 3.3 million child and adolescent victims. child labor in Mexico, according to Save the Children.
he”child laborThe International Labor Organization (ILO) defines it as “all work that deprives children of their childhood, potential and dignity and is detrimental to their physical and mental development. This interferes with their studies because it deprives them of the possibility to attend classes and forces them to attend classes prematurely Take them out of school, or require them to combine their studies with heavy, time-consuming work.”
Although the Office of the Federal Prosecutor for the Protection of Children and Adolescents in Mexico is tasked with safeguarding the best interests of children and adolescents, it does so ineffectively.
“The Office for the Protection of Girls and Boys is the authority that must intervene immediately when issues of violence and rights violations arise. They are not doing what they have to do, they do not have enough staff or resources to mobilize,” says Save the Children’s Child Protection Political Advocacy Coordinator Jose Lugo said.
In an interview with La Silla Rota, he explained that the budget allocated to children in Mexico is not very transparent.
“The Office of the Protective Counsel must strengthen lawyers, social workers, psychologists. The budget allocated for this is not yet clear. The budget of this prosecutor’s office is not clearly reflected, so the impact of these budgets cannot be assessed.”
The organization’s data shows that 1.8 million girls, boys and adolescents in Mexico engage in activities that endanger their health and human dignity.
According to a national survey child labor Entities with the highest percentage in Mexico 2022 child labor They are: Guerrero (24.5%), Chiapas (20.8%), Nayarit (19.1%), Oaxaca (18.5%) and Michoacan (18%). Mexico City ranks at the bottom with 4%.
An average of 7 minors are murdered every day in Mexico
he child labor This is just one form of violence against children. In Mexico, this phenomenon also extends to other crimes such as corruption of minors, kidnapping, and human trafficking.
“The background in Mexico is very complex. On the one hand we have everything to do with organized crime, where children are recruited into gangs, extortion. We have a background of self-defense groups, we have pictures from months ago where they armed children to Protect the local population. We have a migrant background and kidnappings are present in order to extract money in exchange for release. As a country, we do not have the capacity to develop appropriate public policies to prevent violence against children,” warned José Lugo.
According to Save the Children, seven girls, boys or teenagers were murdered every day in 2021.
“We have to get people to see that the issue of violence, especially against girls and boys, needs urgent attention. It is something that has grown and if we don’t act in emerging ways we will waste time. We must take action to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against children in a rights-based manner. If the initial forms of violence, such as psychological and spiritual violence, are not eliminated, then it can escalate into physical violence and even homicide.”
Jose Lugo of Save the Children urged Mexican authorities to implement violence prevention strategies by strengthening families and communities and promoting awareness campaigns to make the situation visible and raise awareness of violations against girls, boys and women.
“Prosecutor’s offices responsible for hearing crimes against girls, boys, adolescents and women should have the necessary knowledge and skills to receive and deal with complaints from members of the public without fear of re-victimization or that crimes remain unpunished.”
Likewise, it stresses the importance of developing and implementing emergency plans to protect the lives of girls, boys and adolescents, which contain strategic approaches to care and protect this population.
he child labor in mexico
According to a national survey child labor 3.7 million girls, boys and adolescents aged 5 to 17 years in Inegi child labor in mexicoaccounting for 13.1% of the total population of 28.4 million in this age group.
he child labor Refers to the participation of girls and boys in forms of work that are prohibited and/or harmful to their development. The above is based on national legislation as well as international conventions and recommendations.
Survey results released in 2022 show that child labor This is an increase of 1.7% compared to 2019, the last census.
Of the total population in this age group, there are 2.1 million girls, boys and adolescents, 7.5% of whom are engaged in unauthorized economic activities, a figure similar to that in 2019 but 4 percentage points lower than in 2007. This includes those working under the minimum legal age for a maximum of 15 years, or in hazardous occupations for a maximum of 17 years.
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Illegal occupations are those in which persons of this age group are engaged in the production of goods and services for market use or in dangerous economic sectors, establishments or activities. Hazardous occupations include owner-occupied agriculture, construction, mining and the chemical industry. There are also risks such as fire, moisture, noise, tools, chemicals and hazardous waste. Furthermore, work performed in places such as bars, canteens, mines, scaffolding and garbage dumps is considered hazardous occupations under the Federal Labor Code.
Another piece of information revealed by the survey is that 1.9 million girls, boys and teenagers aged 5 to 17 years, equivalent to 6.7% of this population group, perform housework in inappropriate conditions, for long periods of time and/or in exposure. to risk. Compared with 2019, there are 409,000 more girls, boys and adolescents in 2022.
According to Inegi’s survey report, girls, boys and teenagers are unable to carry out school activities when they are carrying heavy objects at home, have back or muscle pain, show tiredness or exhaustion, have respiratory problems or use cleaning products.
A further 318,000 children and adolescents, or 1.1% of the sector’s total population, are engaged in illegal occupations and domestic work under inappropriate conditions.