The ideas concerning the family that His Holiness Pope Francis expressed during the audience to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, last January 13th, seemed particularly satisfying to me, because I find among them happy coincidences that confirm the parity of thought and action that unite Mexico and the Holy See on this issue. Most importantly, these words attribute to the family the power of the nucleus of our societies, that produces brotherhood, the spirit of service and the sentiment of peace, all of which are notions that the Mexican people enshrines in its character, traditions and the evolution of daily life, in such a way that it recognizes these values and other as its own and unquestionable.

In my country, the general concept of the “Mexican family” is broad and includes in its grammar the generational ties that make young and old, men and women, natives and foreigners, a part of the same domestic entity, which gathers each Sunday around the table to share with uncles and aunts, cousins, siblings and members of the extended family the joys and sorrows of the day, in a kind of symbiosis or intimate catharsis of dreams and shared experiences.

Let me, however, compare the tradition and statistical data: the recent census of the population reveals that the average “Mexican family” is composed of 4.5 members, and shows that it is composed of: the father, the mother and 2 or 3 children per couple. The fact 81% of the households are headed by men and 19% by women implies that the traditional model of a mother, a father and children continues to be dominant in Mexican society. Moreover, the fact that 80% of children live in the same town or city is a reliable signal of family cohesion. Half of the sons and a third of the daughters communicate daily with their parents. When reaffirming the concept of family unity and solidarity in Mexico, it is good to note that in 59.5% of the Mexican families three generations (grandparents, parents and children) live under the same roof, in 32.7% of the households two generations (parents and children) live together, and only 5.7% of the families are mono-generational.

Despite what I have just said, economic pressures, unemployment and other causes contribute in many cases to the inevitable disintegration of the family, or challenge in complex ways the existence of this concept of the “Mexican family,” which has to evolve without losing its substance. The growing involvement of women in professional work is paradoxical, because according to 62.2 % of the people women with small children should not work outside the home; in the city, 48 % of the people have expressed the same thought. Therefore, there is a need for public and private initiatives that can create conditions in which the vocation of motherhood and the professional vocation can be compatible.
 

At the same time, it is estimated that there are 5.2 million single women: 44% are widows, 25% separated, 22% unmarried and 9 % divorced. These women fulfill the complex role of being both mother and father, in addition to being educators and providing for their families. For this reason, in Mexico, public policies must be created to support these women in different occasions, so that they carry out their role with true heroism.

In the analysis of the challenges that the “Mexican family” and to varying degrees the family in general is facing, I would include factors as diverse as inter-family violence, economic problems, family disintegration, unemployment, migration and other phenomena whose consequences surpass the scope of these few lines. It suffices to note that, as His Holiness recalled, the strength of the family must be the greater cohesion and solidarity between all its members.

As tradition dictates, Mexicans grow up in the family. Now, the objective is to achieve greater coexistence and communication, so that together and in solidarity, we will be able to overcome the conflicts that naturally arise in common life, in the fair insertion of women in the workplace, and as we work towards greater cohesion and interpenetration between family members and between families with the intent to consolidate 21st-century Mexico.