Initiative proposed by Brugada to enact Public Care System Law; aims to acknowledge care as a cooperative duty
Mexico City Leads the Way in Recognizing Care as a Constitutional Right
Mexico City is set to make history with the implementation of its Public Care System Law, which aims to establish care as a constitutional right. The pioneering legislative initiative, proposed by Mexico City's Head of Government, Clara Brugada, includes constitutional reforms and a detailed bill to implement comprehensive care services.
The law, scheduled to be presented by Brugada on Monday, focuses on providing care for children aged six months to six years, free services for older adults, rehabilitation centers for people with disabilities, public laundries, and community kitchens. To ensure the success of this ambitious project, the system requires coordination with all 16 municipalities in Mexico City and a budget that must increase year by year.
The Public Care System Law is a response to the significant amount of unpaid care work that women and girls currently undertake, and it aims to promote gender equality and social welfare coverage over the next 30 years. This initiative aligns with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights' declaration in 2025, which recognized the right to care as a human right.
The care crisis in Latin America reflects broader structural inequalities, including gender disparities in unpaid care work and a lack of state-supported care systems. Mexico City’s law is part of a regional movement towards recognizing care as an autonomous human right, coinciding with international conferences such as the XVI Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean.
At the forum "Caring and Transforming Cities," which serves as a prelude to the Regional Conference on Women, speakers emphasized the need for shared responsibility in care tasks. Maria Noel, regional director of UN Women, highlighted that care is a smart, win-win investment, while Clara Brugada stated that without collective care, there will be no equality.
The event was attended by key figures such as José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, the Executive Secretary of the regional commission of the UN, and the Secretary of Women of the federal government, Citlalli Hernández. Salazar-Xirinachs stressed the need for thinking about the hows and the importance of coordination between federal, state, and local governments.
Mexico City's Public Care System Law marks an important historic step within Latin America’s evolving care policy framework, aiming to institutionalize care as a constitutional right, expand public care services, and advance gender equality in a region facing a significant care crisis rooted in social and economic inequalities.
- Clara Brugada's proposed law, the Public Care System, aligns with international conferences such as the XVI Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, promoting care as an autonomous human right, specifically focusing on women's health.
- The governance of this welfare policy requires collaboration between Mexico City's 16 municipalities and careful budget planning to ensure the system's success, with the goal of advancing health-and-wellness and workplace-wellness for decades to come.
- The implementation of this groundbreaking policy is in response to the disproportionate amount of unpaid care work performed by women and girls in Mexico City, reflecting a broader push for policy-and-legislation changes aimed at gender equality and recognized care as a human right.
- The upcoming creation of community kitchens, rehabilitation centers, and care services for children and older adults serves as an example for regional movements in Latin America, contributing to the discourse around politics, general-news, and scientific understanding of social welfare needs.
