More than 800 mothers in Mexicali and the surrounding valley completed high school Saturday through Baja California’s Tarjeta Violeta program, marking the second graduating class of the state’s free education initiative for women with children. Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda led the graduation ceremony in the state capital.
Free Path From High School to University
Tarjeta Violeta, which translates to “Purple Card,” covers the full cost of completing a high school diploma (known in Mexico as preparatoria or bachillerato). The program operates through a partnership with Grupo Educativo 16 de Septiembre, a private educational institution. Graduates can also continue into university studies at no cost if they choose to do so.
Baja California’s Secretary of Welfare, Netzahualcóyotl Jauregui Santillán, said the program now reaches more than 100,000 women statewide. He also confirmed that Tarjeta Violeta has been written into the state constitution as a guaranteed right, meaning future administrations cannot easily dismantle it.
Second Class Since Program Launch
Saturday’s ceremony in Mexicali represented the program’s second graduating cohort. The first generation of graduates completed their studies earlier in Ávila Olmeda’s term, which began in November 2021. Mexicali, Baja California’s capital city located just south of Calexico, California, is the largest municipality in the state by land area and home to roughly one million residents.
The program targets “madres autónomas,” or independent mothers, many of whom left school to raise children or work. By completing preparatoria, graduates gain access to formal employment that requires a high school diploma, a threshold for many factory and service jobs in Mexicali’s industrial economy. The city hosts dozens of maquiladoras and manufacturing plants tied to cross-border supply chains.
Graduates who wish to pursue a university degree can do so at no charge through the same Grupo Educativo 16 de Septiembre partnership. The state government has not published specific enrollment figures for how many first-generation graduates continued to university.
Ávila Olmeda’s current term as governor runs through October 2027. The next scheduled Tarjeta Violeta graduation has not yet been announced, according to Punto Norte.