The Great Plan to Take Care of the Little Ones (and Maybe the Moms)
In a twist that no one saw coming (or perhaps everyone, because it is International Care Day), the Government of Mexico has decided that, indeed, children exist and need a place to be while their mothers try to earn a living. The bombshell news: in 2026 they will build 200 Child Education and Care Centers (CECI). Is it an ambitious figure or just a nice round number to announce? The world does not know it, but it is part of the celestial goal of one thousand CECI by 2030. Of course, they already have 150 “validated” plots of land, which in colloquial language means that they already know where the plots are, although they may not yet be clear if any of them are on top of a cenote or a plot of land in dispute.
President Claudia Sheinbaum, in a burst of historical sincerity, highlighted what we all know but few in power admit: women, by patriarchal magic, have historically dedicated themselves to caregiving. What a revelation! To combat this ancient injustice, the State, in an unprecedented act of generosity, has decided to “assume part of the care.” What a detail, right? It’s not like it’s one of its basic functions. The stated objective is to grant women greater economic autonomy, as long as, of course, they “want it.” Because, let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want to have the option of not choosing between raising their children and having a salary?
Goals, Percentages and the Inevitable Wheel of Bureaucracy
The director of the IMSS, Zoé Robledohalf a million spaces for those small human beings who measure less than one meter and whose care is, apparently, a titanic task. The strategy is so progressive it hurts: 200 centers in 2026, 250 in 2027, and then 200 more each year until 2030. One can almost visualize officials taking out the calculator and saying, “Well, if we divide this by the years… Eureka!” Of course, they promise to locate them near work centers, because nothing is better for family balance than a trip of just a few hours in city traffic.
And so that you don’t think that it is pure talk, they gave us a shower of percentages of progress of works in Ciudad Juárez. The one from Paraje Oriente? 66.5%. The one from Gladiolas? 41.1%. The one from Urbivilla el Cedro? An exciting 5.6%. They are numbers that, without a doubt, fill the heart with certainty and confidence. Furthermore, in December the first CECI begins in the field, in San Quintín. Because children in rural areas also deserve their dose of institutional care.
“For a long time the approach for greater autonomy for women is that the State assumes a part of the care, for example, the so-called daycare centers at the time allowed many women to be able to go out to work, —my children were in daycare centers of the Mexican Social Security Institute—”, Sheinbaum confessed, in a personal testimony that will surely resonate with millions of mothers who do not have access to a presidential platform to tell their experience.
The Budget and the Digital Map of Care
To make all this a reality, you need the same thing as always: money. A lot. The Secretary of Women, Citlalli Hernández Mora, announced with great fanfare a budget of 466 thousand 675 million pesos. It is such a large number that it is difficult to visualize. Is it equivalent to buying an army of golden kangaroos? Or build children’s centers with diamond walls? In reality, it represents almost 4% of the federal budget, which is not bad at all to pay off a “historical debt.”
And as it could not be missing in this digital era, they also launched the Care Information System (SIDECU). A digital platform whose noble objective is to map and make existing care services visible. So far, they have “mapped” 118,618 centers operated by 17 federal institutions. One wonders if the famous “validated lands” will also appear on that map or if, on the contrary, it will be a useful tool for a desperate mother to find a safe place for her child. Time, and the usability of the website, will tell.
So now you know: the future of child care in Mexico comes with a goal, budget and a digital map. A trio that either changes the lives of millions of women, or becomes the next topic of the morning of 2031. Only time will tell.
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