According to statistics from the Instituto Mexicano de Seguro Social (IMSS), 11 percent of the elderly population in Jalisco are subjected to either abuse, mistreatment or abandonment.
A last-minute bill presented by National Action Party (PAN) deputy Gildardo Guerrero Torres before the conclusion of the 60th Jalisco State Legislature next Sunday seeks to punish children convicted of abandoning their elderly parents with prison terms of up to five years.
“In many cases, elderly people have literally been thrown on to the streets,” Guerrero said. “They leave them in homes or with other relatives, but don’t take care of them financially.”
Jalisco has 125 homes for the elderly housing 1,723 people, out of a total senior population in the state of around 758,000.
The law would also include a new legal assignation – “tutela autodesignada” – for a person who charged with acting on behalf of someone who is unable to make decisions for themselves due to sickness or mental incapacity.