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work is $31,200.00 (thirty-one thousand two hundred Mexican pesos) a year, in other
words, $2,600.00 (two thousand six hundred Mexican pesos) a month. The State
indicated that Esmeralda Herrera died in November 2001, when the average life
expectancy in Mexico for women was 76.7 years, according to the National Institute of
Geographic and Statistical Information (INEGI)546 and that, taking into account that
the victim was 15 years of age when her death occurred, the State considered that, as
a result of the death of Esmeralda Herrera, the loss of earnings to her next of kin is
$1,903,200.00 (one million nine hundred and three thousand two hundred Mexican
pesos).
574. Regarding Claudia Ivette González, the State alleged that she was known to
work in a “maquiladora” company and established that, estimating what she would
have been receiving at the time of her death and what is currently paid for this type of
labor, her approximate total salary was $31.200.00 (thirty-one thousand two hundred
Mexican pesos) a year. Taking into account the life expectancy in Mexico and
considering that the victim was 20 years old at the time of her death, the State
indicated that the loss of earnings to the next of kin of Claudia Ivette González
amounts to $1,747,200.00 (one million seven hundred and forty-seven thousand two
hundred Mexican pesos).
575. In relation to Laura Berenice Ramos, the State alleged that it had information
that she “was not working” prior to her death. However, in this case, the State based
its calculation on the same annual earnings as it had considered for the two previous
victims; namely $31,200.00 (thirty-one thousand two hundred Mexican pesos) a year.
Taking into account the life expectancy and that the victim was 17 years old when her
death occurred, the State considered that the loss of earnings to the victim’s next of
kin amounts to $1,840,800.00 (one million eight hundred and forty thousand eight
hundred Mexican pesos).
576. The Court observes that: (i) the average life expectancy figures presented by
the representatives and the State both refer to the same national source, since they
obtained their data from INEGI and the United Nations Development Program for the
Mexican National Population Council (hereinafter the “CONAPO”); (ii) the average life
expectancies differ by 1.2 years, with the State’s proposal being lower. However,
according to the CONAPO’s basic indicators, the average life expectancy of women in
the State of Chihuahua in 2001 was 76.97; (iii) Mss. Herrera, González and Ramos,
were aged 15, 20 and 17 years at the time of their disappearance, and (iv) neither the
monthly wage of each victim proposed by the representatives nor the monthly wage
proposed by the State are supported by any evidence.
577. Based on the foregoing, the Tribunal concludes that the State’s offer to
compensate loss of earnings (supra para. 573, 574 and 575) is adequate. It therefore
takes it into account and, in equity, decides to establish the following amounts that the
State must grant:
Victim
Esmeralda Herrera Monreal
Claudia Ivette González
Laura Berenice Ramos Monárrez
Amount
US $145,500.00
US $134,000.00
US $140,500.00
578. These amounts shall be distributed in accordance with the laws on inheritance
currently in force in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico.
546
For the life expectancy rates in Mexico for women, the State referred to the official page of the
National Institute of Geographical and Statistical Information (INEGI): www.inegi.gob.mx. This page shows
that the average life expectancy was taken from the National Population Council of Mexico (CONAPO).
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