Aging in community in Mexico, an option in a country discovering seniors

This 65-year-old retired teacher and her husband Francisco Vigil, 61, are part of a group of around thirty retirees who together built six houses in Malinalco, a village of character 100 km southwest of the capital.

On a plot of land surrounded by forests and mountains, six people already live full-time in La Guancha (the name of the project), while the others come and go, waiting to settle in Malinalco for the rest of their days.

"In my professional life, I gave and surrendered because I received a salary," Vigil explains about the spirit of cohousing, a collaborative housing model that comes from Denmark.

"Now it's different because it's about collaboration," continues the former car industry employee. "I've learned that giving is much more satisfying than I could have imagined."

Facing a large garden and a swimming pool that adorn the common areas, the couple explains that they want to grow old in better conditions than their own parents. And they want their children to fly on their own.

The elderly "never get the attention they need, they are very lonely," says Martinez, whose father died at 91 after spending time in an asylum.

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La Guancha was born in 2009 as a university project led by social science doctor Margarita Maass on improving the living conditions of seniors.

"In recent decades, Mexico has experienced a demographic transformation with declining fertility and birth rates, and increasing life expectancy," the academic writes in an article. "This has caused an increase in the number of older adults."

Proportionally, Mexico remains less affected by aging than the European Union (EU), where more than 20% of the population is over 65, just like in Quebec.

However, "moderately advanced aging" is taking place in this country of nearly 130 million inhabitants, according to the government.

The proportion of over-60s increased from 12,3% to 14,7% between 2018 and 2023, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INEGI). The fertility rate decreased from 2,07 to 1,6 children per woman on average.

Together with several partners, Ms. Maass bought a plot of land where a few years later the owners built, installing solar panels to heat water.

They also planted fruit trees (mangoes, oranges, guavas, etc.). "Nature is something that fills my soul," says Tesha Martinez.

For the community, Francisco Vigil designed a computer system to establish the shopping list based on the collective menus.

"Cohousing is a very good solution for people who find themselves alone," explains Ms. Maass. "For people who don't have a lot of money, because it's about sharing the costs, and for people who have health problems, because by being together they share the doctor."

This model differs from the structure of retirement homes because the group "decides how it wants its home, where it wants it, what size, with what people, and with what economic resources," she explains.

"New life"

Margarita Maas gives the example of a resident who died of Alzheimer's disease, for whom the experience of La Guancha was beneficial, because he could divide his time between dominoes, cinema and swimming.

Tesha Martínez has integrated into life in Malinalco, where more than half the population is poor. She has used her experience as a teacher to teach English and take part in ceramics classes. "A new life," she says.