Get married for fun and prizes!

Mexico City’s Delegacion Gustavo A. Madero sponsored a mass wedding Saturday, at which 765 couples — five of which were of the same gender, if you were wondering — tied the knot.

Besides just doing the right thing, there are practical benefits for even childless couples and those without property to get married rather than forming a “union libre”.  One of the more important is the “social credits” given to residents for socially responsible actions that are used to determine elgibility for some benefits programs.  A carrot, rather than a stick, if one does the right thing — registers for the draft, gets a voter ID, finishes high school, or gets married — you accrue points that are counted when determining things like government loans.  The “social credits” count as other forms of collateral and credit-worthiness for various government loan programs. Friends of mine finally tied the knot legally when they started house hunting and realized they could afford a nicer place if they invested in a marriage license which would substantially lower the down payment and mortgage on the apartment they wanted.

But given that a marriage license in Gustavo A. Madero costs 797 pesos plus 33 pesos for a certified copy of the marriage certificate, and a lot of couples don’t have 830 pesos to spare, people are locked out of qualifying for benefits without free mass weddings like the one in GAM.

AND… for a limited time only! … there were lovely parting gifts.  The couples received a china set as a wedding gift from the Delegacion, and tickets on a drawing for various kitchen appliances.

Congratulations to the bride and groom, bride and groom, bride and groom, bride and groom… bride and bride, groom and groom…