( dpa )- People will have to think twice about proposing to their partner in Mexico's capital, if a local legislator's proposal to create an option of compensation for broken engagements is accepted.
To avoid cases like that depicted by Julia Roberts in the film Runaway Bride, legislator Jose Antonio Zepeda of the conservative National Action Party (PAN) proposed establishing the concept of a voluntary engagement contract in Mexico City's Civil Code.
"Those who plan to get married can turn to this concept, which is voluntary, to seek compensation in case they have incurred expenses to plan the wedding," Zepeda's advisor Salvador Martinez told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
This would give couples the option to "cover themselves" from the unexpected, through a legally-binding contract that would establish a mutually-agreed level of compensation in case the engagement does not lead to a wedding.
The proposal does not seek to compensate for tears, but for expenses like wedding dresses, flowers or banquets.