Against oppressive practices that affect people with disabilities
In Latin America, the situation of people with disabilities and their caregivers is framed within the great inequality gap; the link between disability and poverty is unfortunately closely tied and responds to capitalist and neoliberal practices of precarity and marginalization.
That is why from the CLACSO Working Group on Critical Studies in Disability We stand against this system and its oppressive practices that widen the inequality gap, persistently placing people with disabilities in situations of extreme vulnerability. That is why we raise our voices for Mariana and the people who find themselves in this situation.
The case of Mariana Hernández Noriega, in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, demonstrates how women who dedicate themselves to unpaid care work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, experience different inequalities, injustices and violence that endanger both their own well-being, dignity and life as well as the lives of the people they care for.
Mariana is a 42-year-old woman who provides daily, intensive, extensive, and specialized care to her 9-year-old son, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy. These conditions were acquired when he was just 5 months old, after his biological father forgot him in a car with the windows closed for more than three hours.
From then on, Mariana became the primary caregiver and financial provider for her son with a disability, her other daughter, and herself. She also became an advocate for the human rights of caregivers and people with disabilities, chronic illnesses, and terminal conditions in San Luis Potosí, working to build a more just world for giving and receiving care. She carries out this work as President and Founder of the Potosí Caregivers Collective.
However, due to her role as a caregiver and advocate, Mariana began to experience various forms of violence, inequality, and discrimination in different settings, especially at her workplace, the IMSS (Mexican Social Security Institute) Delegation in San Luis Potosí. For nine consecutive years, Mariana endured harassment, intimidation, and psychological, moral, and even physical violence in her work environment because she dedicated herself to caring for her son. This included being denied leave passes to attend to her son's medical emergencies, verbal abuse, false accusations of stealing her own medication when she visited the institution as a beneficiary (patient), attempted physical assaults, and the refusal to authorize a reasonable accommodation based on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to enable her to care for her son satisfactorily, among other issues. This culminated in Mariana's unjust dismissal from her job in April 2023, an act of retaliation for her dedication to caring for her son and defending her rights, as well as those of other caregivers in San Luis Potosí. This left her unable to financially support her family and continue caring for her son, who has a disability. She was unjustly dismissed despite having defended her rights both within and outside the institution with solid legal arguments based on numerous international treaties protecting the right to life and health of children and people with disabilities.
Thus, Mariana's case illustrates how 24/7 caregivers are excluded from paid employment due to their caregiving status through various acts of discrimination and violence. Therefore, we demand the reinstatement of Mariana Hernández Noriega to her job at the IMSS (Mexican Social Security Institute) Delegation in San Luis Potosí with a Reasonable Accommodation that allows her to care for her son with a disability. With a Reasonable Accommodation, Mariana would be able to exercise her human right to work and, at the same time, her human right to care, health, and medical and social benefits (housing, medical treatment, and financial support) to care for her son with a disability in dignified and fair conditions. Stop workplace harassment and discrimination against caregivers and people with disabilities in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, and anywhere in the world!
We invite you to join and support Mariana, and continue fighting for all women caregivers whose rights are unjustly violated.
May 3th 2023
CLACSO Working Group
Critical studies in disability
This text expresses the position of the aforementioned Working Group and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.
