The right to sport in Mexico: state obligations under inter-American human rights standards

Abstract

The right to physical culture and sport was recognized in the Mexican Constitution in 2011 and developed in general laws, but the enforceable standards for its guarantee remained poorly defined while the resources of the responsible federal institution declined. The objective was to analyze the obligations of the Mexican State regarding the right to sport from the constitutional and Inter-American framework, contrast them with institutional and budgetary conditions, and formulate minimum guarantee standards. A documentary review of norms, judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, national programs, and legal scholarship was conducted, together with an analysis of the paid expenditure of the National Commission for Physical Culture and Sport between 2013 and 2023, in constant 2022 pesos. The results showed a real reduction of close to 50% in average spending between 2013-2018 and 2019-2022, concentrated in the programs that transfer resources. The law and the 2026-2030 National Program provide for institutional monitoring and measurement of urban adult physical activity by sex, but neither defines a minimum content of the right or a rule against budgetary regression. It was concluded that a gap exists between normative recognition and the mechanisms examined, which justifies proposing verifiable guarantee standards.