Mexico City Enacts Public Care System Law

Mexico’s newly enacted Public Care System Law creates obligations for over 40 Mexico City authorities, orders a caregiver registry, and promotes remote work and care-related leave in the private sector, with regulations due within nine months.  

Mexico City has enacted a Public Care System Law that redistributes care responsibilities among the government, the private sector, and society, rather than leaving them exclusively to families. The law also introduces provisions that could shape workplace leave policies, remote work arrangements, and certification requirements affecting employers operating in the capital.

Clara Brugada, Mayor of Mexico City, enacted the law on Thursday, arguing that the legislation begins to address a historic debt to millions of women by guaranteeing the right to provide care, receive care, and practice self-care.

The move reflects a broader trend among state governments to formalize care policy, a trend that increasingly requires private companies to reassess internal policies on work-life balance. Although the law does not impose immediate binding obligations on the private sector, the ongoing regulatory process could produce more specific requirements as implementation advances.

Provisions Affecting Employers

The law orders the creation of a registry of paid and unpaid caregivers. It also establishes a free certification mechanism intended to professionalize the care sector.

The law also promotes the adoption of working conditions compatible with caregiving responsibilities, including remote work and care-related leave. IMCO warns that reaching agreements between the government and the private sector on work schedules, licenses, and leave may prove difficult if those agreements depend solely on voluntary employer participation rather than binding mechanisms. 

As part of the law's implementation, the Mexico City government plans to build 100 new Utopias, 200 Casas de las Tres R, 300 Child Care and Development Centers, 200 Day Centers for Older Adults, and 200 spaces for people with disabilities. Combined, this infrastructure is expected to serve more than 100,000 people each year.

According to an analysis by the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO), the law allows Mexico City residents to enforce their right to care through constitutional mechanisms, including the writ of amparo. The IMCO analysis identifies more than 40 Mexico City authorities that acquire new obligations under the law and must allocate sufficient resources to meet them. Budget allocation criteria remain pending. 

About 3.018 million people in Mexico City require some form of care, while 3.08 million people provide it, the government reports. Most caregivers are women who perform this work without pay.

Unpaid caregivers spend an average of 34 hours per week on care tasks, compared with 16 hours per week among men, according to the data presented alongside the law.

What Happens Next

The law's transitional articles set a maximum term of six months for the installation of the Care System Board, the body responsible for coordinating implementation of the policy. An additional three-month period follows the board's installation for the presentation of the draft regulation.

During this period, authorities are expected to define several open questions, including resource allocation criteria among the more than 40 obligated authorities and the specific design of certification mechanisms for caregivers. The draft regulation will also clarify the scope of measures directed at the private sector, since the law currently frames those measures as a promotion rather than an immediate compliance obligation.