In Mexico, every person has the right to physical culture and sports practice, and the State must guarantee its promotion, encouragement, and stimulation, especially concerning people with disabilities, so they can be included in any activity of their choice.
Through a jurisprudence issued by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), the right to sports for people with disabilities has been recognized. According to this law, their practice must be guaranteed on equal terms with others. Therefore, public and private sports institutions are obligated to make reasonable adjustments for their inclusion in regular classes.
This is due to a case where parents of a child diagnosed with trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) requested that their child be enrolled in regular swimming classes because that’s what the child wanted. However, the institution denied the request, stating that the child should remain in the adapted group, where they have the option to participate in the “Special Olympics.”
In response, the child’s parents filed an injunction; but the District Judge denied it, considering that the institution was not denying access to sports activities. On the contrary, by offering adapted classes, it was providing reasonable adjustments for the child to exercise their right to sports.
Upon this denial, the complaining party filed a review petition that was taken up by the Supreme Court.
Based on this legal framework, when specific measures are needed to ensure the exercise of the rights of people with disabilities, including the right to sports, institutions must apply reasonable adjustments. These adjustments, according to the Convention and the General Law for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, consist of modifications that are necessary and appropriate and do not impose an undue or disproportionate burden, to ensure that people with disabilities can exercise their rights on equal terms with others.
Therefore, in the sports field, people with disabilities should not be forced or limited to participate in activities designed around their disability. Doing so would violate the principle of inclusion, as it would contribute to segregating and isolating them from the regular practice of a sport of their choice, in which people without disabilities participate, which is contrary to the principles of equality and non-discrimination.
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