Comments on: Yucatan News: Mahajual & Planting Trees

By: Janessa

Janessa — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:29:33 +0000

Also, you have to realise that the Mexican school system is set up differently and students may go to school and work a few hours a day, just for supplemental income.

By: CasiYucateco

CasiYucateco — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:47:17 +0000

Those you saw selling beads, necklaces, belts, etc, were probably from Chiapas. I have never seen the police run them off. It appears they are tolerated to some degree. The poverty is awful in Chiapas and that’s what these folks do to eat. Their mothers and fathers send all the kids out with things to sell. Most likely, those you encountered had black felt or wool skirts – traditional clothing of Chiapas.

In the grocery stores, I think — and I could be totally wrong — the kids are middle school age or above. They do the bagging solely for the tips they earn (I’ve been told, but perhaps they are paid also). They supposedly are allowed to bag things between school sessions. A couple families have told me that families feel very lucky when a child gets a bagging job. For the most part, the kids are in air conditioning, which they do not have at home, and can earn extra money for the family. They do not work 8 -10 -12 hours — again to my understanding — but shorter time periods.

By: Jan

Jan — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:37:25 +0000

As far as child labor laws, how do we explain the 8-year old girls I met recently who were selling bags, belts and blouses in the squares in Merida and on the beach in Progreso? Also, the young children who bag groceries at many, many stores cannot be considered ‘non-children because they are very young’…. but what IS the age a young person can work?