The Office for the Protection of Children and Adolescents (PPNNA) of Jalisco has organized a working meeting with its Institutional Delegations in the municipalities of Chapala and Poncitlán, in order to address strategies to assist minors working in the tourist area of the Ribera de Chapala. Sandra Paola Trelles Rivas, head of PPNNA Jalisco, highlighted the constant presence of girls, boys, and adolescents from Poncitlán working on the boardwalk of Chapala over the years.
At the meeting, measures were agreed upon to disincentivize child labor and ensure the protection and restoration of rights for this group of the population. The importance of prevention was emphasized and agreements reached between the Office, the Poncitlán delegation, and the Chapala delegation to work in this area were highlighted.
One of the important agreements was to hold training for the staff of the Institutional Delegations, especially for those who have recently joined the legal, psychological, and social work teams. Trelles Rivas stressed that the presence of minors engaging in labor activities or begging for money must be addressed through prevention, with coordinated actions between governments and families.
Representatives present at the working meeting included Erika Torres Herrera, President of DIF Chapala; María Cristina Sánchez Sánchez, President of DIF Poncitlán; and León Delgadillo Rosas, General Operational Deputy Director of the DIF Jalisco System.
According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), in 2022, it was reported that 3.7 million girls, boys, and adolescents aged 5 to 17 in Mexico were in a condition of child labor, with Guerrero having the highest percentage of cases (24.5%), followed by Chiapas (20.8%) and Nayarit (19.1%). In Jalisco, child labor represented 15.4% in 2022. Although it does not rank at the top nationally, authorities are addressing this issue to prevent minors from engaging in labor activities that jeopardize their health, affect their development, or occur below the minimum age allowed under the Federal Labor Law.