The third district judge in Administrative Matters in Mexico City has ordered the restoration of the educational service known as Full-Time Schools (ETC), which included meals and extended hours to facilitate reconciliation.
This program was replaced in 2020 by the program La Escuela es Nuestra (The School is Ours), which contemplates economic compensations for families. The decision is based on a lawsuit that considers that federal authorities violated the right to education and food of millions of children and adolescents by excluding beneficiaries from previous years.
The judge thus obliged the Federal Government, the Chamber of Deputies and all competent authorities to "adopt all measures deemed pertinent in order to continue granting the same benefits that were provided for therein".
According to the ruling, the authorities violated the principle of progressivity with respect to the rights to education and food of children and adolescents, as well as the best interests of the child.
In addition, the judge considers that women mothers, who depended on the FTEs to have a safe place for their children, have been harmed, reducing "the possibility of (...) effectively developing their life projects and the possibility of job stability that has an impact on their economy".
The FTE program, at its peak of coverage, benefited close to 27,000 schools and 3.6 million students, who received additional learning hours. At least 1.6 million students received food service, which for many of them was the first meal of the day.