Advocating on behalf of children – Mexicanos Primero

DLA Piper lawyers in our Mexico City office successfully represented education-focused nongovernmental agency Mexicanos Primero in a lawsuit aimed at preventing cutbacks to the School is Ours program. To protect vulnerable children and provide a safe place to learn, the program increased the hours students could stay at their schools. The program is funded by the government to ensure that children at more than 25,000 schools can extend their school stays by up to two hours and that teachers are compensated for their time. Additionally, this endeavor provides working parents more time to work to support their families.

In late 2022, despite the critical funding being guaranteed under the law, leaders who opposed the efforts initiated cutbacks. In response to this action, Aprender Primero, the legal arm of Mexicanos Primero, claimed that the government illegally and erroneously interpreted the provisions of the Federal Expenditure Budget of 2023, resulting in unwarranted budget cuts. DLA Piper Partner Antonio Cardenas Arriola led a pro bono team at the firm, which included Ana Marietta Rivero Quintal, Ricardo Mendoza, Fernando Osawa Estevez, Pablo Vidrio, and Roberto García (all Mexico City), that worked diligently to have the erroneous ruling reversed. Despite post-pandemic delays and a challenging political climate, the team succeeded in its efforts.

Early last year, a court ordered by means of a definitive suspension that the resources of the School is Ours program not be limited. As a result of this judgment, more than 30 million children in Mexico will benefit from the after-school program. A December 2023 decision, in a continuation of the earlier ruling, declared the cutbacks unconstitutional. The Ministry of Education has since issued guidelines for the School is Ours program for the year 2024, and no limits were established on the ways schools and parental participation committees may use the provided resources. Through the dedication of our lawyers, all participating schools have free and unlimited use of the resources provided by the program without restrictions. We are proud to continue to advocate for children around the world, and we congratulate the team on this important victory for families in Mexico.