Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila’s administration is significantly expanding its community outreach, creating a network of DIF Centers to strengthen the social fabric and build peace across Baja California. To date, these efforts have successfully benefited over 188,000 residents.
“Since 2024, we began replicating the PILARES model in Baja California, a model originally created by President, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, during her tenure leading the Mexico City Government. We were the first state to adopt this model, which brings comprehensive care to communities to combat the root causes of inequality and thus contribute to ensuring that every child and adult can grow up in a dignified, safe, and opportunity-filled environment,” the governor said.
The program is designed to transform lives by promoting social participation and delivering essential services directly to both urban and rural communities, with a special focus on the most vulnerable populations.
The PILARES framework operates on five core pillars: education, economy, culture, sports, and health. This approach allows the centers to offer a wide array of services, including: arts, crafts, and trades workshops, artistic, sports, and recreational activities, medical, dental, and psychological services, and alternative educational programs to help residents complete their studies.
This program is a cornerstone of the state’s broader 2025 Comprehensive Strategy for Social Assistance, Nutrition, and Community Development (EIASADC), aimed at fostering sustainable community development and family well-being.
Currently, the PILARES model is active at a dedicated community center in Tijuana’s Infonavit Latinos neighborhood. Furthermore, 25 existing DIF Development Centers across the state have been unified under the PILARES model, expanding their services to better serve children, adolescents, single mothers, seniors, and people with disabilities.
The impact of these centers is already yielding measurable results. Governor Marina del Pilar recently celebrated the graduation of the first open high school class from the CDC DIF PILARES Latinos center in Tijuana. The graduating class of 87 individuals included several older adults, some of whom have now continued their education at Rosario Castellanos University in Tijuana.
