The care system bill submitted to lawmakers by the government of Mexico City fails to guarantee autonomy, equality, and protection from abuse for people with disabilities and older people, Human Rights Watch said today.
The Mexico City Congress has formed a committee of experts to organize a public consultation on proposals for a new care and support system, which will include a proposal by Clara Brugada, head of the city government. The proposed Public System of Care seeks to address longstanding gender, age, and disability-related inequalities in caregiving. This is an important goal, because women, including women with disabilities and older women, have long disproportionately shouldered caregiving responsibilities, Human Rights Watch said. However, disability and older people's rights groups and advocates said that the proposal contains serious omissions and inconsistencies that fail to guarantee the rights and autonomy of people with disabilities and older people.
"The draft law recognizes care as a right but omits essential elements to make that right effective," said Carlos Ríos Espinosa, associate disability rights director at Human Rights Watch. "It does not clearly define what 'support' means, specify the types of services that would be provided-such as personal assistance, decision-making support, and other support essential for people with disabilities-or guarantee that users have control over their care and support arrangements."
In a letter to lawmakers, advocates said that organizations representing people with disabilities and older people need to actively participate in designing, managing, and monitoring the care system. They warned that the current approach risks reproducing the fundamental flaws of charity-based models, in which people are treated as passive recipients rather than active participants in shaping their support.
Under international standards, support includes measures that enable people to make their own decisions, participate in their communities, and live independently. This may include personal assistance, communication and decision-making support, technology and accessibility services, and assistance for children and adolescents with disabilities as they transition to adulthood. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in its Advisory Opinion 31/2025, recognized support for independent living as an inherent component of the right to care.
A lack of adequate support systems can also leave people with disabilities at greater risk of violence and abuse within their homes. In its 2020 report "Better to Make Yourself Invisible," Human Rights Watch documented cases in four Mexican states, including Mexico City, where people with disabilities experienced neglect and mistreatment by family members or caregivers, a problem often fueled in large part by the absence of independent living support.
A woman with a physical disability in Mexico City told Human Rights Watch that she has not left her home in years because her relatives do not allow her to go out alone. She said they often yell at her and scold her for wanting to be more independent.
"They tell me: 'You can't go out, you'll get hurt, you don't understand,'" she said. "They get angry when I insist. Sometimes I feel like I'm in prison." Her situation illustrates how the absence of alternatives to family-provided support can create environments in which control, neglect, or abuse may occur, Human Rights Watch said.
"Without access to personal assistance or community-based support, many people with disabilities are forced to remain in family settings where they experience neglect, coercion, or abuse," Ríos Espinosa said. "A comprehensive system of care and support should empower people to report violence and make their own choices about where and with whom to live."
Human Rights Watch also noted that the proposal lacks clarity on the specific services to be provided-such as publicly funded personal assistance-and fails to establish a dedicated budget or framework that could expand and improve the system over time.
A strong and inclusive care and support system is urgently needed to promote equality, autonomy, and shared responsibility in caregiving, Human Rights Watch said. That system should fully align with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Inter-American Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons, ensuring that care and support policies empower users rather than limit their independence. An inclusive care and support system could also advance gender equality by enabling women-including women with disabilities and older women-to exercise their rights and participate fully in education, work, and community life.
"The authorities should use this consultation process to strengthen the bill," Ríos Espinosa said. "The law should reflect the lived experiences of those it is meant to serve-people with disabilities, older people, caregivers, and support providers-so that the right to care and support becomes a reality, not merely a promise."
