One step forward, but how much further to go?
The Mexican Social Security Institute stood out this International Domestic Workers Day. He announced that 46 thousand people already have access to a pension thanks to the mandatory incorporation program. Another 11 thousand began their formal working life under this scheme.
Sounds good, right? But let’s get to the real numbers. Carolina Griselda Cisneros Prado, from the IMSS, gave the key figure: 59 thousand people have validity and access to the institute’s five insurance policies. That includes everything from healthcare to daycare.
“65% of the members are women and 35% men, with an average age of between 48 and 49 years,” explained the official.
Here is a fact that is no small thing: these workers can insure their families. Children, partner, parents. That adds up to 72 thousand additional beneficiaries. In total, we are talking about more than 124 thousand people with coverage.
Historical memory requires context
Celebrating progress is okay. Necessary even. But the uncomfortable question is always: what about the others? According to estimates by civil organizations, in Mexico there are between 2 and 2.4 million domestic workers.
Put those 59 thousand members in the balance against those millions. The percentage hurts. This program has existed since 2019. Four years later, coverage is still a drop in the bucket.
The irony is surgical: we celebrate that thousands have what by constitutional right everyone should have for decades. Access to health and a dignified old age are not favors. They are rights.
Every press conference where these figures are announced is an exercise in detecting what is NOT said. We talk about those included, never about those excluded. The passage is celebrated without mentioning the length of the pending path.
So yes, there are 46 thousand more pensions than before. But the real news is in the millions who continue to wait.
