Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Merida (Agenzia Fides) - Every year child labor in the Mexican state of Yucatan increases. In the streets of Merida, Progreso, Umán Kanasin there are children who beg, wash windows, sell sweets, chewing gum, chocolate... Others sell flowers, fruit, juices, different kinds of foods, newspapers, cigarettes, shoes, clothes, crafts, bags and accessories, many are street cleaners. They are often forced to work even at night and exposed to multiple dangers, but they have to worry about bringing money home because otherwise they will be punished. According to the Human Rights Commission of Yucatan and the Regulator Observatory of Girls, boys and Adolescents Rights, since 2013, 455 children in the Mexican State between 12, 14, 15 and 16 years of age work from 3 to 5 hours a day in the four municipalities of the State. Of these, 324 are males and 131 females. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 22/05/2013)
