By: NATASHA SMITH
PEOPLE IN Mexico who walk out on their wedding day will have to pay their jilted partner compensation, if a local congressman’s proposal is passed.
Jose Antonio Zepeda, a city deputy for President Felipe Calderon’s conservative National Action Party, wants to introduce the idea of compensation for backing out of a wedding as part of changes to the capital’s civil code.
Weddings are big social events in Mexico and large amounts of money are spent before the big day on gowns, tuxedos, catering and music bands and churches, which is mostly paid for by the bride’s family.
“He or she who refuses to live up to a marriage commitment will pay for the expenses that the other party made in connection with the planned matrimony”, Zepeda’s proposal says.
Incidentally, divorce rates are on the rise in Mexico, which has a predominantly Catholic population of more than 107 million. Three out of 10 couples in Mexico City divorce compared with just one in 10 in the 1970s, according to the congressman.
