January 29, 2018

The governor of the State of Mexico, Alfredo del Mazo Maza, published the agreement in which the “pink salary card” is officially approved as an instrument to distribute the several and different social programs that will be managed by the government in that state from this year. The Ministry of Social Development in the state, directed by Eric Sevilla, will be in charge of supervising the operation of the new card “in order to improve the execution of the development social programs or actions and attend in an integral and transversal way to those sectors of the population which are in poverty, margination, exclusion and vulnerability conditions”, says the 2nd article of the agreement published last January 19.

Nevertheless, despite that the “pink salary” was the main electoral promise of Alfredo del Mazo in the last year elections, the payment will not represent even the minimum salary established by the National Commission of the Minimums Salaries from December 1st in 2017 and valid this year. The Commission announced the amount of 88 pesos and 26 cents per day. According to the aims established by the state government and announced at the end of 2017, the budget for the first application of the “pink salary” will be about two thousand and four hundred millions of pesos to benefit to 111 thousand poor women.

The above means women will not receive a minimum salary as it would be expected. They will receive the half or even less, only 40 pesos per day distributed in bimonthly payments of two thousand and four hundred pesos.

Finally, the nine programs that initially will be managed by the government of the State of Mexico through the “pink salary card”, and announced only four months before the beginning of the campaigns for the local electoral elections of the July 1st, are:

Social Development Program Strong Families Mexiquense Feeding; Strong Families Growing With You; Strong Families Strengthening Communities; Strong Families Pink Salary; Strong Families Older Adults; Strong Families for a Better Future; Strong Families Indigenous Childhood; Strong Families Dignified Indigenous Housing; Strong Youth in Movement. This last one is expected to be operated by the Mexiquense Institute of Youth.

Mary Delgado