Our housekeeper, Ana Maria, came to me the other day with her 19-year-old son, Edgar, asking for help with a problem.

Ana Maria is separated from her husband, who is in jail for crimes related to his drug addiction. On his path to self-destruction, Papá took Edgar's computer and other valuables and sold them, making continued attendance at art school impossible. A potential reprieve cropped up when an aunt left Edgar some money, but another member of Papá's family stole it.

Edgar will need to get a job, abandoning his dream of becoming an artist. Jobs that pay enough to live on are hard come by in Mexico, but Edgar has yet one more legacy. One of his great uncles is retiring from the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), the government-owned electric company, and the position he now holds can be Edgar's.

Jobs with CFE or the postal service or the social security agency are highly coveted because they pay living wages and include health coverage, paid vacations and retirement benefits. Packages like this are scarce in the private sector.

Obtaining such a job by applying right off the street is pretty much impossible, because somehow, one jobholder is allowed to pass his position on to another person, usually a family member. These are even called herencias—inheritances.

Amazing, no?

So Edgar will get a highly desireable job, even if it's not something he wants to do—except for one hurdle. He has not graduated from secondario—junior high school. He needs to attend for one more year to earn the diploma that will qualify him to receive his inheritance.

Would I give him the money for uniforms, supplies and fees?

Claro que sí. Of course.