Congressman Pedro Haces Lago presented an initiative proposing that child-support debtors who repeatedly and unjustifiably fail to pay child support for their daughters and sons perform community service in Mexico City, without the measure eliminating the obligation to pay the outstanding amounts.
The initiative proposes adding Article 322 Bis to the Civil Code of Mexico City. Under the proposal, family judges could order community service when they establish that a person failed to pay, without justified cause, the support payment set by a judicial authority.
The proposal was presented by the Morena legislator during a regular session of the Mexico City Congress. The Governing Board referred it to the Commission for Administration and Administration of Justice, which will be responsible for analyzing it and preparing an opinion.
The sanction would not eliminate the child-support debt
Haces Lago specified that performing community service would not forgive the debt or release the obligated person from their financial responsibilities. The accumulated amount would remain enforceable for the benefit of children and adolescents. Rather, it would serve as a way to pressure those who fail to comply with what they are legally entitled to receive.
The proposal established that the measure would have to be imposed through a properly grounded and reasoned judicial ruling. The court would have to determine the duration, conditions, and location where the work would be performed. Community service would take place at public institutions and involve activities that benefit the community. The initiative did not specify a number of hours or the types of activities that family courts could order.
The Morena legislator said the objective was to give judicial authorities an additional tool for dealing with cases of persistent failure to comply with child-support obligations.
Some debtors pretend to be insolvent to evade their responsibilities
During his speech before Congress, the legislator argued that failure to pay child support affects family finances and violates the rights of children and adolescents.
Haces Lago said that many single mothers have taken on childcare, caregiving, food, education, and medical care responsibilities alone due to the lack of contributions from fathers who are legally required to pay child support.
The legislator also pointed out that some debtors have resorted to informal employment arrangements or concealed income to evade judicial orders. According to his proposal, these practices allow them to appear to lack sufficient resources in order to avoid making payments.
“Paying child support cannot be optional,” Haces Lago stated. The congressman added that the obligation stems from a court ruling and from the responsibility to guarantee resources for children in the capital.
Local legislation already includes mechanisms such as the Registry of Delinquent Child-Support Debtors. The legislator argued that this instrument has not prevented some people from pretending to be financially insolvent in order to avoid fulfilling their obligations.
The proposed addition to the local Civil Code established that community service could only be ordered when there had been repeated and unjustified failure to pay child support previously ordered by a judicial authority.
The measure would remain subject to case-by-case review by family courts. The ruling would have to establish the specific conditions for enforcing the sanction, without replacing the daughters’ and sons’ right to receive the resources owed to them.
Source: infobae
