MEXICO
Third periodic report
dated 7 December 1992
Estados Unidos de
México - the United States of Mexico - is the most populous
Spanish-speaking country in the world, with 93.7 million inhabitants.
The population is 60 percent mestizo (mixed indigenous-Spanish),
30 percent indigenous or predominantly indigenous, and 9 percent
white. Although Spanish is the official language, several indigenous
languages are also used. In recent years the country has gone
through much internal turmoil, including assassinations of politicians,
scandals related to former President Carlos Salinas de Gortari,
an indigenous Zapatista insurrection, and peso (Mexican currency)
crash in 1994.1
July 1997 Elections
The July 6, 1997,
state and national congressional elections, widely pronounced
to be "the fairest and most transparent elections in Mexico's
history," ended the 68-year domination of the nation's political
system by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the
de facto one-party system in Mexico, which the Peruvian novelist
Mario Vargas Llosa had called a "perfect dictatorship."2 Observers hailed the new "more democratic" Mexico. Although
some were quick to point out that the multiparty competition
does not ensure the elimination of poverty and the end to widespread
corruption,3 others predicted
that the changes would over time reduce these problems by destroying
old power structures and replacing them with more pluralistic
forms.4 Some observers remarked that the significance
of the PRI's defeat in the elections was also a manifestation
that the Mexican people, tired of growing poverty, have discovered
the "power of the ballot." 5 But the greater transparency of the midterm elections was made
possible also by electoral reforms introduced by President Ernesto
Zedillo Ponce de León: the 1996 electoral law established
an autonomous professional Federal Electoral Institute (IFE)6
and mandated greater access to media, especially television,
by opposition parties.7
As a result of the
election, the centre-right National Action Party (PAN) took
two governorships and 26.6 percent of the vote, and PRI won
39.1 percent of the popular vote, its lowest level of support
ever, while the leftist Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD)
received 25.7 percent.8
In one of the most important gains for the opposition, the PRD's
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solorzano won the mayor's office
of the capital, Mexico City. Cárdenas, a son of an immensely
popular president of the 1930s, has been a staunch critic of
the PRI.
The new Congress
includes four opposition parties, the PRD, the PAN, the leftist
Workers' Party and the Green Ecologist Party. Despite ideological
differences, they all agree on the need to limit the unchecked
power that PRI so far has enjoyed.
Labour Movement
Mexican labour law
gives the government the power to stop formation of independent
unions, to ban strikes or to declare them "legally non-existent,"
which leaves strikers no protection from being fired. 9 The PRI has exercised almost complete control
over unions, and most efforts to form independent unions and
bargain collectively led to terrorism against independent organisers.10 In maquilas (or maquiladoras, factories
that produce for export - see discussion under Convention Article
11 - Employment), employers and local officials have thwarted
attempts to organise unions. 11
The PRI dominance and constraints on the labour movement have
led to a decrease in workers' real wages.
The PRI's recent
electoral defeat, however, may have opened a window of opportunity
for an independent labour movement to form. In August 1997,
Leonardo Rodríguez Alcaine, head of the Mexican Workers
Confederation (CTM; with 6 million members the most powerful
labour union) warned that the union would stage demonstrations
if his demands for wage increases were not met. The minimum
wage in Mexico stands at approximately US$3 per day.12
Security Forces
Mexico maintains
one of the smallest armies in the world in proportion to its
population, but the army has been described as the "country's
largest police force."13
With an absence of external threat, and with peaceful relationships
with the United States in the north and Guatemala and Belize
in the south, the army has been used extensively for domestic
purposes.14 Recently, indigenous and human-rights groups have accused
the government of waging a low-intensity conflict in the southern
state of Chiapas, the site of an uprising in January 1994, and
of militarising of Guerrero and Oaxaca, the areas of Zapatista
National Liberation Army (EZLN) and the Popular Revolutionary
Army (EPR) activity. Abuse by the security forces also has been
reported in the northern state of Sinaloa, which is the main
point of the country's illegal drug trade.15
According to human
rights groups, the army's presence in indigenous communities
under the pretext of pursuing guerrillas or narco-traffickers
has resulted in deterioration of the human rights situation.16
Human rights groups have reported numerous cases of persecution,
detention and torture of peasants and opposition leaders by
the army and the police in these areas.
Drug Trafficking
According to one
Latin American trade publication, curbing Mexico's drug trade
and money laundering through its financial system "could seriously
destabilise the economy."17
It is estimated that the reinvested drug profits boost the country's
growth by as much as US$15 billion per year, or 5 percent of
Mexico's GDP. The drug cartels have long been under PRI protection
and the end of PRI's dominance might limit their impunity.18 In July 1997, Gen. Jesús Gutiérrez Rebollo, chief
of the government's anti-drug forces for seven years, was charged
with running a sophisticated operation with drug cartels and
protecting the powerful Juárez cartel.19
Evidence also has surfaced that the police force has engaged
in murders and disappearances of persons suspected of involvement
in the drug trade, especially along the Mexico-U.S. border.20
Attacks Against
Journalists
In recent years
the Mexican press has become more independent and more critical
of the authorities. Journalists have taken on drug traffickers
and exposed government wrongdoing. At the same time, attacks
and harassment of journalists have increased, and there often
is a link between the authorities and the murderers.21 Mexico leads Latin America in the number of journalist assassinations
- since 1970, 100 reporters, editors and publishers have been
killed.22 In 1997, three
Mexican journalists who had written about drug crimes and official
corruption were killed,23
and more than 120 violent incidents of attacks or harassment
against journalists were reported in only the last few months
of the year. Journalists David Vecenteno and Daniel Lizarraga
of the daily Reforma, Silvia Otero of El Universal, and two
TV Azteca reporters reported being kidnapped, tortured and threatened
in September 1997.24
Poverty
More than half of
Mexico's population (50 million out of nearly 94 million) suffers
from malnutrition, one of the main results of poverty.25
The southern states of Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas are the
"poorest of the poor." More than half of the region's rural
homes have dirt floors and lack drinking water. Illiteracy rates
approach 50 percent, and the children are the country's smallest
and most malnourished.26 An anti-poverty plan called "El Progresa," announced by Zedillo
in August 1997, is not expected to have a significant impact
on poverty, as it targets only 400,000 poor families. 27
Economy and NAFTA
The 1994 peso devaluation
threw Mexico into the worst economic recession in 60 years.
Within a year, the peso's worth declined from US$.26 to US$.13,
and prices on basic items jumped. At the same time, some 20,000
businesses were closed, and more than 1 million people lost
jobs. Interest rates soared and inflation shrank savings and
incomes. With impoverishment of the population, crime in the
capital increased by 36 percent in 1995 and by an additional
14 percent in 1996.28
In 1994, Mexico
signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with
Canada and the United States. Some commentators say NAFTA has
benefited Mexico by creating jobs and helping its economy recover
quickly after the peso crash. While in 1995, Mexico's GDP dropped
6.2 percent, only a year later it grew 5.1 percent.29 But NAFTA's critics argue that it has had a considerable
social and environmental cost. Human rights commentator Noam
Chomsky, for instance, warns that NAFTA has wiped out small
Mexican corn farmers in favour of huge U.S. agribusiness, accelerating
migration from rural to urban areas, depressing wages and increasing
labour rights violations. Chomsky also argues that NAFTA-related
business harms the environment, since production tends to be
shifted to areas with "lax environmental enforcement."30
Opposition politicians and parties that recorded success in
the July elections, including the PRD's Cárdenas, have
called for a review of NAFTA to make it less harmful to workers
and the environment.31
Since the ratification
of NAFTA, the number of maquilas has increased dramatically.32
Most of these factories receive 98 percent of their inputs from
the United States or Asia. Many environmental, human rights
and labour groups accuse the sector of exploiting workers, who
are pressured to work long hours under poor working conditions
for meagre wages. Labour rights groups have also alleged that
maquila workers are routinely prevented from organising.33
Rebellion in Chiapas
On 1 January 1994,
the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN), a mostly indigenous
guerrilla group from the poor region of Chiapas, staged an uprising
against the national government, protesting discrimination,
repression and economic reforms. They also called for autonomy.
The rebellion coincided with the Mexican signing of NAFTA, which
meant an end to land reform, privatisation of indigenous communal
lands, and a more difficult economic situation in Chiapas. 34 The EZLN and the government have been negotiating
since the end of January 1994, but the talks came to a standstill
in January 1997. The EZLN has repeatedly accused the government
of violating the San Andrés Larrainzar accords on indigenous
rights, which were signed on 16 February 1996, and of waging
a low-intensity war in Chiapas.35
Human Rights
Mexico boasts one
of the most comprehensive constitutional guarantees of human
rights in the world, but these rights are commonly violated.36 In 1997, Mexico's human rights record was
criticised by several international organisations, including
Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch. The International
Federation of Human Rights, AI, the Organisation of American
States (OAS), and the United Nations (UN) all sent delegations
to investigate the human rights situation:37
Complaints of arbitrary arrests and torture committed by the
police and the military have come from the states of Chiapas,
Guerrero and Oaxaca.38
AI claimed that abuses were committed by members of the security
forces against both political and criminal detainees, and criticised
Mexican authorities for doing little to prosecute the perpetrators.
According to an April 1997 AI report, despite thousands of complaints
filed, no one has been sentenced for the crime of torture and
ill-treatment. 39 Human-rights abuses include arbitrary detentions, torture,
extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, and failure
to punish government officials accused of violations.40 Even President Zedillo acknowledged in an October 1997 speech
that the perception of insecurity has reached such a high level
that people in the capital and other parts of the country fear
the police as much as they fear criminals.41
National Human Rights
Commission
In 1990, President
Carlos Salinas de Gortari established the National Human Rights
Commission (CNDH). Though CNDH has helped draw attention to
human rights violations and exerted pressure on government agencies
to take action, it has been criticised for depending on the
executive branch. Its powers have been limited - it could not
receive complaints directly and could make only recommendations
to government agencies, with the exception of cases involving
violations of electoral or labour rights.42
The commission has often been accused of ignoring or helping
cover up human rights abuses. In October 1997, however, a new
bill proposing CNDH full autonomy was introduced in the Chamber
of Deputies. If adopted, it would make CNDH accountable to the
legislature rather than to the executive branch, and would turn
the commission into a human rights ombudsman office.43
CONTRIBUTORS: This
below report is based in part on information provided to IWRAW
by the New York-based Center for Reproductive Law and Policy's
"Women of the World: Laws and Policies Affecting their Reproductive
Lives - Latin America and the Caribbean." The November 1997
report was created in collaboration with CRLP partner organisations
Study for the Defence of Women's Rights (Estudio para la Defensa
de los Derechos de la Mujer - DEMUS) and Information Group on
Reproductive Choice (Grupo de Información en Reproducción
Elegida - GIRE), both based in Mexico. IWRAW also received information
from the Minneapolis-based Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights,
and from Group of Women of San Cristobal (Grupo de Mujeres de
San Cristóbal) based in San Cristóbal de las Casas
in Chiapas, Mexico.
BASIC RIGHTS AND
FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS - Convention Article 3
Jails
According to the
U.S. Department of State Human Rights report, some Mexican prisons
do not separate male and female populations. Women held in such
conditions are vulnerable to abuses from both male inmates and
the guards. According to the report, women are sometimes encouraged
or even coerced to enter into sexual relationships with male
prisoners and guards.44
The well-publicised
case of Ana María Vera Smith is one example of imprisonment
of women in male prisons. Smith is a well-known radical leftist
imprisoned on kidnapping charges in 1990. She has been held
for seven years without trial because of the failure of witnesses
to appear and because of her claims that she has been tortured
to extract confession. She has staged several hunger strikes
to end her status as the only woman the Puente Grande prison
in the Jalisco state. Puente Grande, Mexico's second toughest
prison, holds approximately 900 men. Human rights groups, including
CNDH, have called for Smith's release and denounced her conditions
of imprisonment as physical and psychological torture. She is
held in a tiny cell and lives among male criminals who have
been sentenced on murder and drug-trafficking charges. She gets
only two hours of exercise per day and has reported frequent
humiliating searches conducted by male guards. Mexican women's
rights attorney Aurela Pérez Caño called Smith's detention
unconstitutional. According to Pérez, the law allows jailing
women with other women only, and maximum-security prisons, such
as Puente Grande are meant for male convicts only.45
VIOLENCE AGAINST
WOMEN - Convention Articles 3, 5, 6, 12, 15, and 16
Rape
In 1995, in Mexico
City 1,289 rapes were reported to the police, and the figure
rose by 25 percent in 1996. But it is estimated that approximately
95 percent of all reported cases of sexual abuse go unpunished.
Patricia Olamendi, the director of the Office for Victims of
Sexual Crimes of the Attorney General's Office for the Federal
District, attributes the statistics to the government's lack
of attention to policies and laws related to sexual violence.
This results in poor handling of these cases by the police and
the justice system. The law enforcement system tends to discount
women's stories and commonly blames them for the attack.46 In addition, women often feel that they cannot trust the
police since there have been documented cases of police officers'
participation in sexual crimes.47 It is estimated that on average only 17 percent of all rape
victims report attacks against them.
Several recent cases
have drawn attention to the discriminatory way the Mexican justice
system handles rape cases. One of them is the widely publicised
case of Claudia Rodríguez Ferrando. In 1996, Rodríguez
shot and killed a man who was trying to sexually assault her.
Judges and prosecutors openly blamed Rodríguez for the
attack. She spent a year in jail awaiting trial on homicide
charges, and won release in February 1997 only after an energetic
campaign launched by feminist organisations and attorneys.48
The groups pointed out that in another self-defence case, a
major television network's security chief, who shot and killed
a robber who was trying to steal his Rolex watch at gunpoint,
was freed within two days. A women's rights activist stated:
"We can't have a situation where a woman's physical integrity
is worth less than a wristwatch."49
In August 1997,
Mexico was shocked when 16-year-old Yéssica Díaz Cazares
committed suicide three months after she was raped by three
men in the central state of Durango. Reportedly, the police
asked her to recount her story and tried to pressure her to
drop rape charges. According to press reports, Yéssica's
mother, sister and niece were tortured to pressure her to withdraw
the rape claim.50 As a result of this case, the police chief and other justice
officials were suspended, and the Durango state authorities
launched a criminal investigation. State Attorney General Juan
Francisco Arroyo Herrera quit his post after CNDH recommended
that he be dismissed.51
Spousal Abuse
In June 1997, the
Supreme Court ruled that violently forcing a spouse to engage
in sexual relations was not rape but the "undue exercise of
a right." The court's decision rested on an assumption that
where there is an obligation of cohabitation, "violent imposition
of normal copulation on the other is not sufficient for the
act to be considered rape, even though the perpetrator has employed
methods used in what is defined as rape." In the past, offenders
faced eight to 14 years in prison and did not have the right
to probation. Under the new ruling, they will have the option
to pay a US$100-$300 fine or spend up to a year in prison. Mexican
women's human-rights activists have accused the court of "legitimising
the exercise of violence between spouses," and of violating
the Mexican constitution and international treaties. They claim
that the ruling denied the principle of equality between spouses
and violated a clause in the constitution that "no individual
can take the law into his own hands nor use violence to demand
a real or supposed right."52
Domestic Violence
Minnesota Advocates
for Human Rights (MAHR) conducted an investigation on domestic
violence in 1996. According to MAHR, domestic violence is a
widespread problem in Mexico, yet the abusers are rarely punished
for the crimes. The cultural mores dictating that violence in
the home is a private matter, not a public issue for prosecution
by the state, weights heavily and impedes victims' access to
justice. Victims are routinely not taken seriously and many
of them are encouraged to reconcile with their abuser early
in the case and pressured to drop the criminal charges. MAHR
found that a Mexico City "conciliator," (someone appointed to
work with the victim) openly expressed his view that the husband
had a right to beat his wife and prosecution of such cases was
inappropriate.53 According
to the MAHR report, only 5 percent of victims who start the
criminal process actually see it through to sentencing.
Domestic violence
advocates have campaigned unsuccessfully for a new criminal
and civil law specific to domestic violence. However, a new
anti-domestic violence bill that mandates harsher sentences
is pending in the lower house of Congress. Women's rights advocates
have urged legislators to approve the new law, which would "give
Mexico its first concrete policies against family violence."54
EDUCATION - Convention
Article 10
Even though women
make up 52 percent of Mexico's population, only 19 percent finish
elementary school. Girls drop out of school more often than
boys, and they make up 70 percent of the illiterate adult population.55
Their dropout rates are always related to marriage, pregnancy
and inability to pay.56
EMPLOYMENT - Convention
Article 11
Pregnancy Testing
Mexican employers
are required by law to provide a 12-week paid maternity leave
to their female employees.57 Employers have tried to circumvent this requirement by administering
pregnancy tests to female job applicants and repeating the test
before extending work contracts. Although measures against pregnancy
are strictest in the maquiladora industry (see Maquilas below),
multinational corporations such as Coca-Cola, as well as Mexican
government offices such as the Education Ministry and the State
Workers' Social Security Institute, also have used pregnancy
testing. In addition, women applying for jobs with the Education
Secretariat reported that they had to fill out questionnaires
about their sexual activity.
Maquilas
Maquilas (or maquiladoras)
are export-oriented assembly plants concentrated along the border
with the United States employing a total of 900,000 workers.58
Their output represents approximately 40 percent of the nation's
exports.59 In some maquila sectors, such as electronics
and garment-assembly plants, up to three-quarters of workers
are female,60 and they
come from nation's lowest-income sectors.61
Human rights groups have criticised the poor working conditions,
such as 10-hour shifts and highly repetitive work. In addition,
workers in the maquila industry face particularly strong management
resistance to organising. The International Confederation of
Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) reported that employers, often with
support from local officials, have harassed and threatened workers
who attempted to start trade unions.62
Maquilas also have
been accused of forcing job applicants to undergo pregnancy
exams. In August 1996, Human Rights Watch reported the widespread
maquiladora practice of administering pregnancy tests. Employees
and employers involved with the industry confirmed the practice;
several workers in Tijuana factories reported that they were
given mandatory pregnancy tests and employers made it clear
that they would not hire women who tested positive.63 Advocacy groups such as Human Rights Watch, the International
Labour Rights Fund and the National Association of Democratic
Lawyers of Mexico petitioned the U.S. Labour Department in May
1997 to investigate charges that Mexico was violating NAFTA's
side labour accord concerning laws against sex discrimination.64 As a result, the Department launched an
investigation in July 1997.65
At the same time,
human rights groups pointed out that women who are refused jobs
because of pregnancy or forced to have an abortion to get a
job, do not have any legal recourse. The labour tribunal accepts
complaints only in cases where the contractual relationship
of employment already exists.66
HEALTH CARE AND
FAMILY PLANNING - Convention Article 12
Abortion
Although the Mexican
constitution guarantees reproductive freedom and does not explicitly
prohibit abortion, most states criminalise it. According to
the National Prenatal Institute, approximately 200,000 to 850,000
abortions are performed each year; some international organisations
and NGOs say the number may be as high as 2 million. Women face
six months to five years of imprisonment for abortion,67 and doctors who perform the procedure face
six-to eight-year imprisonment and a loss of their license.
Every year about
1,500 women die from trying to perform abortion on their own.68
Even though abortion is a serious public-health issue and its
relatively high incidence is linked to a reluctance to use birth
control, which is prohibited by the influential Catholic Church,
there is no public debate about it and minimal political and
social support for its legalisation. The Catholic Church and
pro-life activists have not made abortion a major issue, and
anti-abortion demonstrations are uncommon. According to Marta
Lamas, director of the Information Group on Reproductive Choice
(GIRE), such a pro-life crusade is unnecessary because of the
cultural weight of Catholicism in Mexican society.69 In fact, politicians, doctors and even Mexican feminists
avoid the issue. Asked about abortion, Senator Amalia García,
who has fought for women's rights for 20 years, responded that
she would not fight for its legalisation.
Reproductive Health
Negligence by medical
personnel and coercion at reproductive health-care centres are
serious issues in Mexico. The U.S. State Department reported
that the largest number of complaints to the CNDH in 1995 involved
negligence or abuse during childbirth and charges of forced
sterilisation.70 The government's
"Woman's Programme," designed to monitor the situation, has
been receiving an increasing number of complaints since it was
established in early 1990s. Grievances have grown from 14 in
1993 to 49 in 1995, and they are estimated to increase to more
than 100 in 1997.71 One of the most noteworthy cases involves
a women who, following the Caesarean birth of her third child,
found that one of her thumbs was stained. She was subsequently
informed that while she was unconscious, her thumb print was
used to obtain her "consent" for sterilisation.72
CNDH and several NGOs recommended that the government mandate
special training programs for medical personnel and establish
medical review boards to eliminate these abuses, but it is unknown
whether any such programmes have been instituted.
While general reproductive
health has improved, as indicated by declining infant mortality
rates and an increase in breastfeeding, the rate of maternal
deaths has remained steady since 1993 at 5.8 per 10,000.73
AIDS
Mexico ranks third
in the Western Hemisphere in the number of reported HIV/AIDS
cases,74 and women constitute
about 15 percent of them.75 It is estimated that at least 400,000 people in Mexico carry
HIV.76 While AIDS cases
among Mexican women in the mid-1980s were mainly associated
with blood transfusion, 64 percent of new cases are traced to
heterosexual transmission.77
In fact, the heterosexually transmitted epidemic has been increasing
twice as fast as cases related to blood transfusion in recent
years and it is expected to dominate AIDS epidemiology in the
future.
While women are
biologically more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS than men, in Mexico
their social and cultural status makes it more difficult for
them to defend themselves against the risks of infection. Women's
economic, social and cultural subordination to their sexual
partners, as a result of machismo, makes it more difficult for
them to "assess their infection risk and negotiate taking preventive
measures."78 AIDS researchers in Mexico have called for better design
of preventive measures that would empower women and enable them
to protect themselves even without their partner's awareness.
They called for the promotion of education among young heterosexual
couples on how to discuss and negotiate sexual issues and preventive
measures.
Alicia Molina of
the Interdisciplinary Centre for Study and Research in Mexico
City said the country's educational system does not have an
adequate sex education programme, as it is limited to biological
and medical topics and fails to deal with important psychological
implications and social aspects of sexuality.79 Conservative sectors of society, particularly the Catholic
Church hierarchy, have been campaigning to make sex education
exclusively a parental responsibility - a misguided proposition,
since parents themselves often lack adequate information. Partly
as a result of this pressure, there is no sex education programme
for adolescents, and the 1995-2000 programme of educational
development does not mention sex education in curricula.80
The church and antichoice groups have demanded that condoms
distributed through Mexico's AIDS prevention programme carry
a warning label stating, "use of this product is harmful to
health."81
RURAL WOMEN - Convention
Article 14
Rural women, and
particularly indigenous women, occupy the lowest possible socio-economic
position. According to the Pan American Health Organisation,
malnutrition is 31.8 percent more prevalent in rural zones than
in urban areas.82 Indigenous
women, especially in the poorest states - Oaxaca, Guerrero and
Chiapas - find themselves in the worst condition of marginalisation
and poverty.83 Many of them speak only their indigenous
language and have no say in matters related to their marriage,
reproduction, freedom of movement and decision-making. 84 Deep-rooted traditions and customs relegate
them to a subservient role in relationships. They have an average
of four children and, as their primary roles are mothering and
caretaking, they are excluded from the public sphere and often
are completely unaware of their social, political and legal
rights. These women are often exposed to domestic violence resulting
from alcoholism, drug addiction, and the extremely poor living
conditions.85 Despite abundant evidence of this situation,
according to women's groups, the government does not have any
policy or programme to improve the status of rural women.
EQUALITY BEFORE
THE LAW - Convention Article 15
According to a report
by Center for Reproductive Law and Policy (CRLP), despite constitutional
guarantees of equality between men and women in many Mexican
states, legal codes contain provisions that are clearly discriminatory
in regards to women. In some states, women are required to obtain
authorisation from their husbands to work or sign a contract.
CRLP also reported that in some states, Chiapas for instance,
an animal theft receives a harsher punishment than rape. 86
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
LAW - Convention Article 16
According the U.S.
State Department's Human Rights Report, in some states women's
ability to sue to establish paternity and receive child support
is limited, except in cases of rape or cohabitation; when the
child resides with the father; and where there is a written
proof of paternity.87
Divorce
According to Judge
Alicia Elena Pérez Duarte, in cases of divorce on the grounds
of adultery, the law clearly favours men, justifying men's adultery
to a certain degree. If the wife does not meet her husbands
"conjugal rights," the husband may be seen as justified in seeking
satisfaction of his "natural instincts" through extramarital
sexual relations. He is not held responsible for the divorce
as he is considered to have been "pushed" into adultery. On
the other hand, a woman is always condemned for adultery since
her extramarital affair can result in an "illegitimate child."
Moreover, such conduct is considered a "provocation" for her
husband's adultery, which makes her guilty and ultimately responsible
for the divorce. The person who is declared responsible loses
forever the right to receive alimony from the other.88
1
M. Delal Baer, "Misreading Mexico,"Foreign Policy, no.
108 (Fall 1997): 139. back
2
M. Delal Baer, "Misreading Mexico,"Foreign Policy, no.
108 (Fall 1997): 141. back
3
M. Delal Baer, "Misreading Mexico,"Foreign Policy, no.
108 (Fall 1997): 143. back
4
Howard LaFranchi, "Getting Along with Mexico Just Got Harder,
but Healthier," Christian Science Monitor, 17 July 1997.
back
5
Andrew Reding, "The New Mexican Revolution," Sacramento
Bee Sunday Forum, 13 July 1997, on-line, 30 July 1997. back
6
M. Delal Baer, "Misreading Mexico,"Foreign Policy, no.
108 (Fall 1997): 141. back
7
Sam Dillon, "In Mexico, Balloting Will Test Authoritarian
System," New York Times, 6 July 1997, on-line. back
8
M. Delal Baer, "Misreading Mexico,"Foreign Policy, no.
108 (Fall 1997): 140. back
9
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 1997
Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights (Brussels:
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 1997), 58.
back
10
Andrew Reding, Democracy and Human Rights in Mexico, (New
York: World Policy Institute, May 1995), 39-40. back
11
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 1997
Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights (Brussels:
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 1997), 58.
back
12
Sam Dillon, "In Mexico, Balloting Will Test Authoritarian
System," New York Times, 6 July 1997, on-line. back
13
Andrew Reding, Democracy and Human Rights in Mexico, (New
York: World Policy Institute, May 1995), 23. back
14
Andrew Reding, Democracy and Human Rights in Mexico, (New
York: World Policy Institute, May 1995), 13. back
15
Molly Moore, "Rights Group Cites Abuses by Mexico's Ruling
Party," Washington Post, 30 April 1997, Nexis, 20 October 1997.
back
16
"Mexico-Rights: Government Cancels Meetings with Amnesty
International Head," Inter Press Service, 24 September 1997,
Nexis, 20 October 1997. back
17
"Mexico Drug Profit as High as $15 billion-Report," Reuters,
4 August 1997. back
18
Andrew Reding, "The New Mexican Revolution." back
19
Anthony DePalma, "Main Witness in Mexico Drug Scandal is
Shot and Wounded," New York Times, 28 July 1997. back
20
Marisa Samuelson, "Rights Groups Decry Disappearances,"
InfoLatina, 10 October 1997, Nexis, 20 October 1997. back
21
"Mexico, Colombia Lead Latin America in Slain Journalists,"
Agence France-Presse, 4 September 1997. back
22
Mark I. Pinsky, "Living Dangerously; Journalism in Mexico;
Includes Report on Imprisoned Journalists," The Quill (May 1997),
Nexis, 20 October 1997. back
23
Julia Preston, "Five Reporters Assaulted in Mexico in Efforts
to Intimidate Them," New York Times, 21 September 1997, Nexis,
20 October 1997. back
24
"Mexican Journalists Often Attacked," Associated Press,
25 September 1997, Nexis, 20 October 1997. back
25
Diego Cevallos, "Mexico-Food: for Thousands, Right to Food
More Distant Than Ever," Inter Press Service, 16 October 1997,
Nexis, 20 October 1997. back
26
Diego Cevallos, "Mexico-Food: for Thousands, Right to Food
More Distant Than Ever," Inter Press Service, 16 October 1997,
Nexis, 20 October 1997. back
27
Diego Cevallos, "Mexico-Food: for Thousands, Right to Food
More Distant Than Ever," Inter Press Service, 16 October 1997,
Nexis, 20 October 1997. back
28
John Ward Anderson, "In Mexico's Crime Wave, Police Often
are the Cause, Not the Solution," Washington Post, 30 September
1997, Nexis, 20 October 1997. back
29
M. Delal Baer, "Misreading Mexico,"Foreign Policy, no.
108 (Fall 1997): 146. back
30
Noam Chomsky, "Notes of NAFTA: The Masters of Mankind,"
Documents on Mexican Politics, available from http://daisy.uwaterloo.ca/~alopez-o/pol-ind.html/,
Internet, accessed on 31 October 1997. back
31
Sam Dillon, "In Mexico, Balloting Will Test Authoritarian
System," New York Times, 6 July 1997, on-line. back
32
Maquilas are international subcontracting plants in which
one country, usually an industrialised one, provides capital,
technology and infrastructure to another country which supplies
labour. back
33
Diego Cevallos, "Mexico-Economy: Social and Environmental
Costs of Maquila Boom," Inter Press Service, 15 July 1997, Nexis,
20 October 1997. back
34
"Zapatista Women Demand Their Rights," Women's World ISIS,
no. 31 (1997), 18. back
35
Chronological History of the Peace Talks Between the EZLN
and the Mexican Government, 1994-1997, available from http://www.peak.org/~joshua/fzln/timeline.html,
Internet, accessed on 10 November 1997. back
36
Andrew Reding, Democracy and Human Rights in Mexico, (New
York: World Policy Institute, May 1995), 13. back
37
Diego Cevallos, "Mexico-Rights: Strained Relations Between
Government, NGOs," Inter Press Service, 14 October 1997, Nexis,
20 October 1997. back
38
Diego Cevallos, "Mexico-Human Rights: Special Rapporteur
on Torture Sent to Mexico," Inter Press Service, 6 August 1997,
Nexis, 20 October 1997. back
39
"Mexico: Widespread Torture and ill-treatment Continues
Despite Government's Professed Commitment to End this Atrocious
Crime," Amnesty International News Release , no. 68/97, 30 April
1997. back
40
"Legislators Propose Constitutional Changes to Grant Greater
Autonomy for Human Rights Commission," SourceMex: Economic News
& Analysis on Mexico, 15 October 1997, Nexis, 20 October
1997. back
41
Diego Cevallos, "Mexico-Human Rights: Watch Out for the
Police, Rights Groups Say," Inter Press Service, 11 September
1997, Nexis, 20 October 1997. back
42
Andrew Reding, Democracy and Human Rights in Mexico, (New
York: World Policy Institute, May 1995), 54-55. back
43
"Legislators Propose Constitutional Changes to Grant Greater
Autonomy for Human Rights Commission," SourceMex: Economic News
& Analysis on Mexico, 15 October 1997, Nexis, 20 October
1997. back
44
US Department of State, Mexico Country Report on Human
Rights Practices for 1996 (Washington, DC: Bureau of Democracy,
Human Rights, and Labour, 30 January 1997). back
45
Monica Ballesca, "Lone Woman Fasts in Jail Full of Mexican
Men," Reuters, 29 April 1997, Nexis, 20 October 1997. back
46
Diego Cevallos, "Mexico-Women: Suicide of Young Rape Victim
Spurs New NGO," Inter Press Service, 15 October 1997, Nexis,
27 October 1997. back
47
Julia Preston, "A Woman's Shooting of Attacker Rivets Mexico,"
New York Times, 5 February 1997, A3. back
48
Elena Poniatowska, "Women's Battle for Respect Inch by
Inch; Each Small Victory is Big News in the Struggle for Respect
in a Society Where Mother's Day Means the Gift of a New Mop,"
Los Angeles Times, Op-Ed, 8 September 1997, Nexis, 27 October
1997. back
49
Julia Preston, "A Woman's Shooting of Attacker Rivets Mexico,"
New York Times, 5 February 1997, A3. back
50
"Mexico Rape-Suicide Causes Fallout," Associated Press,
29 August 1997, Nexis, 20 October 1997. back
51
"Mexico Prosecutor Resigns Amid anger Over a Rape-Suicide,"
Chicago Tribune, 31 August 1997, Nexis, 20 October 1997.
back
52
Eduardo Molina y Vedia, "Mexico: Supreme Court Legitimises
Rape of Spouses, Critics Say," Inter Press Service, 16 June
1997, Nexis, 20 October 1997. back
53
Minesota Advocates for Human Rights, "Report of Mission
to Mexico," (Minneapolis, MN:Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights,
April 1996, photocopied). back
54
"Chamber Mulls New Family Violence Bill," Worldsources
Online, Inc., 19 November 1997, Nexis, 20 November 1997.
back
55
Susan Ferriss, "In New Congress, Mexico's Women Hope for
Unity with Mexico-Lesbian," Cox News Service, 22 August 1997.
back
56
Elena Poniatowska, "Women's Battle for Respect Inch by
Inch; Each Small Victory is Big News in the Struggle for Respect
in a Society Where Mother's Day Means the Gift of a New Mop,"
Los Angeles Times, Op-Ed, 8 September 1997, Nexis, 27 October
1997. back
57
Andres Oppenheimer and Lucy Conger, "Mexican Women Unite
in a Demand for Rights," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 18 August
1997, Nexis, 27 October 1997. back
58
"Maquiladora Jobs Up," Arizona Republic, 1 October 1997,
Nexis, 20 October 1997. back
59
" Mexico/Maquiladoras/Exports Increase to 4,001 million,"
Notimex, 17 September 1997, Nexis, 23 October 1997. back
60
"Mexico Labour: Maquilas Put Spotlight on Workers' Rights,
Ethics," Economist Intelligence Unit, 29 July 1997, Nexis, 31
October 1997. back
61
Diego Cevallos, "Mexico-Economy: Social and Environmental
Costs of Maquila Boom," Inter Press Service, 15 July 1997, Nexis,
20 October 1997. back
62
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 1997
Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights (Brussels:
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 1997), 58-59.
back
63
Diane Lindquist, "US Planning Maquiladora Investigation,"
Copley News Service, 19 July 1997, Nexis, 20 October 1997.
back
64
"Mexico Trade: USA May Probe Sex Discrimination Charge,"
Economist Intelligence Unit, 11 July 1997, Nexis, 20 October
1997. back
65
Kevin G. Hall, "Hiring Practices at Mexico's Border Factories
to Be Studied," Journal of Commerce, 18 July 1997, Nexis, 20
October 1997. back
66
Kevin G. Hall, "Hiring Practices at Mexico's Border Factories
to Be Studied," Journal of Commerce, 18 July 1997, Nexis, 20
October 1997. back
67
Centro Legal para Derechos Reproductivos y Políticas
Públicas, Mujeres del Mundo: Leyes y Políticas que
Afectan sus Vidas Reproductivas América Latina y el Caribe
(New York: CRLP, November 1997), 159. back
68
Louise Palmer, "Mexico; The 'Double Moral' that Keeps Abortion
Off the Political Agenda," Los Angeles Times, 24 August 1997,
Nexis, 27 October 1997. back
69
Louise Palmer, "Mexico; The 'Double Moral' that Keeps Abortion
Off the Political Agenda," Los Angeles Times, 24 August 1997,
Nexis, 27 October 1997. back
70
US Department of State, Mexico Country Report on Human
Rigths Practices for 1996 (Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Democracy,
Human Rights, and Labour, February 1997). back
71
Zoraida Portillo, "Population: Reproductive Rights Lacking
in Latin America," Inter Press Service, 26 May 1997, on-line.
back
72
Zoraida Portillo, "Population: Reproductive Rights Lacking
in Latin America," Inter Press Service, 26 May 1997, on-line.
back
73
Eduardo Molina y Vedia, "Health-Mexico: Maternal Deaths
Mar Improved Reproductive Health," Inter Press Service, 25 May
1997, Nexis, 31 October 1997. back
74
"World Bank Loan Assists Argentina to Fight AIDS," Xinhua
News Agency, 23 May 1997, Nexis, 31 October 1997. back
75
Aurora del Rio Zolezzi and others, eds., "La Epidemia de
VIH/SIDA y la Mujer en Mexico," Salud Pública de México
, vol. 37, no. 6 (Noviembre-Diciembre de 1995): 581-591.
back
76
"Archbishop, Antichoice Group Call for Warning Labels on
Condoms," In Catholic Circles (Washington, DC: Catholics for
Free Choice) vol. 2, no. 4 (July-August 1997), 5. back
77
Aurora del Rio Zolezzi and others, eds., "La Epidemia de
VIH/SIDA y la Mujer en Mexico," Salud Pública de México
, vol. 37, no. 6 (Noviembre-Diciembre de 1995): 581-591.
back
78
Aurora del Rio Zolezzi and others, eds., "La Epidemia de
VIH/SIDA y la Mujer en Mexico," Salud Pública de México
, vol. 37, no. 6 (Noviembre-Diciembre de 1995): 581-591.
back
79
Eduardo Molina y Vedia, "Health-Mexico: Maternal Deaths
Mar Improved Reproductive Health," Inter Press Service, 25 May
1997, Nexis, 31 October 1997. back
80
Centro Legal para Derechos Reproductivos y Políticas
Públicas, Mujeres del Mundo: Leyes y Políticas que
Afectan sus Vidas Reproductivas América Latina y el Caribe
(New York: CRLP, November 1997), 165. back
81
"Archbishop, Antichoice Group Call for Warning Labels on
Condoms," In Catholic Circles (Washington, DC: Catholics for
Free Choice) vol. 2, no. 4 (July-August 1997), 5. back
82
Pan American Health Organisation, Country Health Profiles:
Mexico, 15 September 1995, available from http://www.paho.org/,
Internet, accessed on 3 September 1997. back
83
Diego Cevallos, "Mexico-Food: for Thousands, Right to Food
More Distant Than Ever," Inter Press Service, 16 October 1997,
Nexis, 20 October 1997. back
84
"Zapatista Women Demand Their Rights," Women's World ISIS,
no. 31 (1997), 19. back
85
"Zapatista Women Demand Their Rights," Women's World ISIS,
no. 31 (1997), 19. back
86
Patricia Galeana, "La Violencia Intrafamiliar como Delito
Tipificado. Un proyecto Pendiente, " in Comisión Nacional
de Derechos Humanos, Memoria de la Reunión Nacional sobre
Derechos Humanos de la Mujer Mexicana, November 1995, 16.
back
87
U.S. Department of State, Mexico Country Report on Human
Rigths Practices for 1996 (Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Democracy,
Human Rights, and Labour, February 1997). back
|
