of women. Nevertheless, he reafiHllle<J the MeX1can Government's conunitment to tackle those problems with all the means at its d1sposal. 79. Regarding the concrete benef1ts obta1ned by women, the representative of Mexico mentioned the rates of 1ncrease in the number of working women between 1970 and 1979 and the reduction in the rate of women's 1111teracy between 1960 and 1962. 80. Some Solutlons to overcome certaln obstacles encountered by women were found by making women aware of their rights under the Convention through government publiclty campalgns and through efforts of women's organizations. 81. Concerning the court system le provlde remedies tor women's grievances, the representative ot the State party referred to the remedy of amparo which effectively protected men and women against arbitrary acts committed by the State. He also pointed out that many women's organlzations in the country protected wom~n against violations of their rights. 82. If either spouse had a complaint in famlly affairs, he or she could bring it to the family court. A child born out of wedlock could have its mother's surname and its father's surname if the child was recognized by the father. A child born in wedlock automatlcally had both the father's and the mother's surnames. For legal purposes, a woman always kept her maiden name 1n official documents. Vast strldes had been made in the area ot famlly planning durlng the past 10 years, however, women were not forced to accept family-planning methods. 83. The words Rllv1ng honestly", in referrlng to the requirements for be1ng a citizen of Mexico, meant that an 1ndividual must not have been convicted in a court of a cr1me. 84. The representative of the State party said that his Government considered that an important part of lts efforts consisted in strengthening the polltlcal wlll and in gaining broader popUlar support for full equality between men and women, and in the determlnation of the lnternatlonal community to change customs and preJudlces. 85. In recalling the importance of socio-economic development as one of the bases for the promotlon of the status of women, he gave various data and figures that showed tile increase in the number of women in the labour force, in spite of the fact that Mexico's populatlon had almost doubled 1n the last 20 years up to 1980 (from 35 to 67 million, half of whom were women) and the increase of rural-urban mlgration which had created great difficulties in all areas ot development in the country. A substantial decrease in illiteracy had also been achieved, from 20 per cent in 1960 to 9.1 per cent in 1980. The major beneficiaries had been women, who had increased their enrolment in primary, secondary, technical and other instltutions of professional studies. 86. He also noted that considerable investments were needed to initiate certain services reqUired to comply wlth the Convention and that the present economic situation was not facilitating the deployment of such funds. In addition, actual equallty was also lmpeded by c~ltural and psychological factors, which women themselves were sometimes perpetuating. Upon ratifying the Convention, the Government of Mexico had made a reservation 1n relatlon to artlcle 10 (c) because of its flnancial implications. 87. 88. F he st 89. deSlr repor women, Union 91. under to th Const' equal' po Lf t i equal econo measu combi 92. the e enact Subse famil becam the c equal' admin recei of mo 93. statl count the S ethic of le that parti cultu 94. broad 95. total) -14-