Cancún DIF Detects 50 Child Labor Cases as Program Tracks 250 Families

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Municipal DIF teams in Benito Juárez have identified 50 cases of children and adolescents working in public spaces across Cancún, part of an ongoing prevention and rights-protection program that now follows more than 250 families flagged as at risk.

The teams, made up of social workers, lawyers and psychologists, carry out constant surveillance rounds to locate cases and support the families involved. August produced the largest number of detections, which officials attributed mainly to the summer school holiday period.

The child labor prevention unit’s registry of beneficiaries reached 250 families in June, up from 235 children and adolescents recorded in January.

Four Teens Placed in Temporary Care

Four adolescents were temporarily admitted to the Centro de Asistencia Temporal (CAT) after authorities could not identify support networks for them. Once family relationships were verified and relatives located, all four returned to their families.

The remaining minors identified were left in the care of their guardians, with DIF continuing to monitor them. Officials said the children’s participation in work is usually tied to economic need.

Wilma Esther Alamilla Moén, head of the child labor assistance unit, said the program promotes schooling as its central tool. “We promote education as the main instrument for transforming lives; it is the driving force for preventing child labor and strengthening our students’ development,” she said.

The DIF Benito Juárez has long run prevention and rights-protection measures aimed at minors earning money at cruise terminals, roadways, parking lots and other public sites. The work includes detection, home visits and educational, nutritional and health support for families.

Nineteen Cases in First Half of 2026

Between January and June 2026, the agency intervened directly in 19 cases involving children and adolescents aged four to 17 who were working in public and commercial locations. In May, 268 minors on the registry received shoes, sneakers and socks.

In 2025, the agency carried out 139 rounds in five priority zones and identified 65 minors doing child labor. Of those, 35 entered a comprehensive support program, and the agency provided 3,764 advisory sessions to families.

Money raised through the agency’s annual Day of the Dead bread sale will go to the Community Development Centers, mainly to expand coverage of the Pilares program in 2027. The agency said that project is close to completion.