Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro has sent a proposal to the State Congress that would outlaw the physical punishment of children, mandating prison terms of up to five years for violators.
The bill, referred to as the “Ley Anti-Chancla,” incorporates the right for children and adolescents to have a “crianza positiva” (positive upbringing) without the threat of physical or psychological aggression from a parent or guardian. Legislator Hernán Cortés Berumen, president of the Social Assistance and Family Commission, said the proposed law will need careful scrutiny to ensure that parents were not denied the right to discipline or correct their children in other ways.
The first countries to completely prohibit the corporal punishment of children were Sweden in 1966 and Finland in 1969. The United States, Canada and England still allow parents to use physical force to discipline their children within “reasonable” boundaries.