As is often the case with Mexico’s private schools, children stay in the same institution their entire lives, forming insular cliques. As a result, for those who join a school later on, it can be difficult to integrate into a group of friends.
At best, the situation proves lonely and isolating. At worst, they become the victims of severe bullying.
“The teachers are former students,” says Andrea, now 32, “and so are the parents,” meaning social circles can be extremely closely knit.
According to Andrea, the dynamic at her middle school was not unlike the 2004 film “Mean Girls.” Social groups were sharply defined, with the so-called popular kids on one side and the geeks on the other, almost as if they were imitating American schools.
“It was a constant process of pigeonholing one another,” she says.
Authorities turning a deaf ear
Andrea felt the pressure of being the newcomer right away.
It began with rumors about things she had supposedly said. Soon enough, her friends stopped talking to her. The violence, however, escalated.
Her peers started attacking her with comments about her body. At one point, Andrea says, “They would shout at me and threaten me directly, telling me that no one would ever love me because I was flat-chested.”
When she tried to report the abuse, school authorities decided that all the students were equally to blame — “as if we were all sinners” — and there was never any real support.
The bullies were never reprimanded, nor did they face any consequences for harassing her.
The situation became so unbearable that Andrea decided to “fail nine out of 12 subjects because I just didn’t want to be there anymore.”
Long-lasting, devastating consequences
Based on his years in private clinical practice, psychotherapist Pedro Isla recognizes Andrea’s response as typical behavior for someone experiencing school bullying.
Working with the non-governmental organization CONCIEO, Isla notes that warning signs can vary. They may range from “difficulties with eating, sleeping or concentrating” to “a lack of motivation to try new things, or a decline in academic performance.”
Harassment between students remains a widespread issue in Mexico. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), roughly 28% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 report having experienced bullying or discrimination at school.
Similarly, advocacy NGO Bullying Sin Fronteras estimates that up to 28 million children and teens across all educational levels are affected nationwide.
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According to Isla, adolescents are particularly vulnerable because “they are more distanced from their families due to the stage of life they are in; often, their peers serve as mirrors.”
In a bullying situation, Isla says, “what the mirror reflects is a deficient self-concept,” fostering the belief that “there is something wrong with me as a person.”
In her case, the bullying was so intense that Andrea simply decided to dissociate: “At one point, I felt like it was everyone against me, and no one was believing me.”
Isla notes that school bullying “has profound consequences for an individual’s self-concept.” That is, “the idea young people have of themselves, which persists into adulthood.” The long-term consequences, he says, can be “devastating.”
What’s more, nowadays, bullying is not limited to the schoolyard, classrooms, cafeteria and hallways.
Dr. Diana Guerrero has spent more than 30 decades working in schools, and notes that technology now means “bullying in Mexico follows victims outside of school through cyberbullying.”
Bullying in Mexico — The numbers
Overall, reports of school bullying in Mexico increased by 205% in 2024, compared to 2019, according to the Consejo Ciudadano para la Seguridad y Justicia, with most cases handled through an official helpline.
In 2024 alone, more than 1,000 children and adolescents were treated in hospitals across the country for injuries resulting from physical violence that occurred strictly within schools.
Of these hospitalized victims, almost 70% were between the ages of 12 and 17, a demographic that has been identified as the most vulnerable to this type of violence.
“Young people are bombarded via social media, viral challenges and a range of largely unchecked messages that glorify violence,” Dr. Guerrero says, “leading them to believe that being violent and hurting others makes them popular.”
A negligible decline
At the same time, OECD PISA reports suggest that frequent bullying has declined only marginally. In 2015, 20.2% of Mexican students reported being bullied at least a few times a month — 1.5 percentage points above the OECD average of 18.7%.
By the most recent PISA report, Mexico’s rate stood at 19.5%, sitting just 0.1 percentage points below the OECD average of 19.6% and comparable to countries such as Vietnam, Hungary and Canada.
Of course, staff and faculty should be trusted to provide an educational environment free from violence — one that respects students’ basic human rights, as outlined in the General Law on the Rights of Girls, Boys and Adolescents.
However, the figures point to a reality that is quite the opposite.
While OECD figures suggest bullying in Mexico has seen a decrease in recent years, dipping 0.7 percentage points since 2015, the change is relatively negligible given just how many adolescents experience such violence as part of their daily lives.
A restorative approach to bullying in Mexico
In Mexico, there is no fixed or exclusive budget for child, adolescent and teen mental health services.
Rather, the general budget allocated to mental health accounts for between 1.3% and 2% of total public health spending. This translates to less than 4 billion pesos — a percentage well below the 5% recommended by the World Health Organization.
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In her experience, Dr. Guerrero says the main challenge for bullying in Mexico is a lack of “genuine follow-up” with reported cases.
“Training, follow-up and disciplinary measures — as well as formal complaints filed with public prosecutor’s offices that specialize in cases involving adolescents — are necessary,” she says.
Regarding schools, Dr. Guerrero believes that “training the teaching community” is essential, as is “establishing very clear protocols, so that teachers know what to do and how to act.”
Similarly, Isla believes it is important to address not only the victim but also the perpetrator. “Beyond having a policy of punishment,” Isla says, “we need to establish protocols for reparation for those who engage in harassment.”
When it comes to prevention, Isla believes that “consciously embracing the role that families play as mirrors for children” is imperative. “We must reflect to them the qualities they already possess or have the potential to develop,” so that they may experience genuine validation.
“In this way, children can begin to recognize these qualities within themselves,” Isla says, adding, “this is not something they have to go through alone.”
Andrea Fischer contributes to the features desk at Mexico News Daily. She has edited and written for National Geographic en Español and Muy Interesante México, and continues to be an advocate for anything that screams science. Or yoga. Or both.
