Constitution of Mexico
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- This article is about the current Political Constitution of the United Mexican States. For earlier constitutional texts governing that country, see Constitutions of Mexico.
The Political Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1917 is the present constitution of Mexico. It was drafted in Santiago de Querétaro by a Constitutional Convention during the Mexican Revolution. It was approved by the Constitutional Congress on February 5, 1917, with Venustiano Carranza serving as the first president under its terms.
The most important articles, 3, 27, and 123, displayed profound changes in Mexican political philosophy that would help frame the political and social backdrop for the rest of the century.
Contents |
[edit] Organization
The Constitution is divided into "Titles" (Títulos) which are series of articles related to the same overall theme. The Titles, of variable length, are:
First Title:
- Chapter I: Individual Rights (Capítulo I: de las Garantías Individuales)
- Chapter II: on Mexicans (Capítulo II: de los Mexicanos)
- Chapter III, on Foreigners (Capítulo III: de los Extranjeros)
- Chaper IV: on Mexican Citizens (Capítulo IV: de los Ciudadanos Mexicanos)
Second Title:
- Chapter I: on National Sovereignty and Form of Government (Capítulo I, de la Soberanía Nacional y de la Forma de Gobierno)
- Chapter II: on the Parts that make up the Federation and the National Territory (Capítulo II, de las Partes Integrantes de la Federación y del Territorio Nacional)
Third Title:
- Chapter I: on the Separation of Powers (Capítulo I, de la División de Poderes)
- Chapter II: on the Legislative Power (Capítulo II, del Poder Legislativo)
- Chapter III: on the Executive Power (Capítulo III, del Poder Ejecutivo)
- Chapter IV: on the Judicial Power (Capítulo IV, del Poder Juidicial)
Fourth Title:
- About the responsibilities of the public service and the patrimony of the State (De las rsponsabilidades de los servidores púlicos y patrimonial del Estado)
Fifth Title:
- About the states of the Federation and the Federal District (De los estados de la Federación y del Distrito Federal)
Sixth Title:
- About work and Social Welfare (Del Trabajo y la Previsión Social)
Seventh Title:
- General Provisions (Prevenciones Generales)
Ninth Title:
- About reforms to the Constitution (De las Reformas a la Constitución)
Tenth Title:
- About the Inviolability of the Constitution (De la Inviolabilidad de la Constitución)
Constitution Day (Día de la Constitución) is one of Mexico's annual Fiestas Patrias (public holidays), commemorating the promulgation of the Constitution. Although the official anniversary is on February 5, the holiday takes place on the first Monday of February regardless the date.
[edit] Articles of the Constitution
[edit] Article 1
This article discusses how every individual in Mexico (official name, Estados Unidos Mexicanos) has the rights that the Constitution gives. These rights cannot be denied and they cannot be suspended. Slavery is illegal in Mexico; any slaves from abroad who enter national territory will, because of this, be given liberty and the full protection of the law. All types of discrimination whether it be for ethnic origin, national origin, gender, age, different capacities, social condition, health condition, religion, opinions, preferences, or civil state or any other which attacks human dignity and has as an objective to destroy the rights and liberties of the people.
[edit] Article 2
The Mexican nation is unique and indivisible. The nation is pluricultural based originally on its indigenous tribes which are those that are descendants of the people that live in the actual territory of the country at the beginning of the colonization and that preserve their own social, economic, cultural, political institutions. The awareness of their indigenous identity should be fundamental criteria to determine to who the dispositions over indigenous tribes are applied. They are integral communities of an indigenous tribe those that form a social, economic and cultural organization.
[edit] Article 3
Discusses the matter of education in Mexico, and its main principle is that all of the education financed by the state is to be free and non-religious.
[edit] Article 4
All people, men and women, are equal under the law.
[edit] Article 9
Only citizens of the Republic may take part in the political affairs of the country.[1]
[edit] Article 11
Protects citizens from "undesirable aliens resident in the country." Grants private individuals authorization to make citizen's arrests.
[edit] Article 16
"In cases of flagrante delicto, any person may arrest the offender and his accomplices, turning them over without delay to the nearest authorities."
[edit] Article 27
Only Mexicans by birth or naturalization and Mexican companies have the right to acquire ownership of lands, waters, and their appurtenances, or to obtain concessions for the exploitation of mines or of waters. All of the land in the country is originally the property of the nation, which can grant control over it to private citizens, albeit with certain restrictions – for instance, foreign citizens cannot own land within 100 km of the borders or 50 km of the sea, that an area of land next to the coast is federal property which cannot be sold to particulars, and that only the nation may control, extract, and process petroleum and its derivatives.
Article 27 addressed land ownership issues that plagued Mexico at this time in history. This article consisted of two main components that can be seen as a response to the Porfirio Diaz’s land ownership policies. First, the article forced those who stole land from peasants during the Porfiriato to return the land. This first part of the article even required that provisions be made to communities who did not have a legal title to the land that belonged to them. Second, Article 27 reversed the private land ownership position take by Diaz. Private property was no longer a right of the people, but rather a privilege granted by the state that could be requisitioned at the state’s demand. This article also held Mexican citizenship as a requirement for land ownership, which angered the many foreigners who owned land in Mexico.
[edit] Article 32
"Mexicans shall have priority over foreigners under equality of circumstances for all classes of concessions and for all employment, positions, or commissions of the Government in which the status of citizenship is not indispensable." Foreigners, immigrants, and even naturalized citizens of Mexico may not serve as military officers, Mexican-flagged ship and airline crew, or chiefs of seaports and airports.
[edit] Article 33
"The Federal Executive shall have the exclusive power to compel any foreigner whose remaining he may deem inexpedient to abandon the national territory immediately and without the necessity of previous legal action." It also states: "Foreigners may not in any way participate in the political affairs of the country."[1]
[edit] Article 55
A deputy or senator must be "a Mexican citizen by birth."
[edit] Article 91
Cabinet officers must be Mexicans by birth.
[edit] Article 95
Supreme Court justices must be Mexican by birth.
[edit] Article 123
Covers the rights of workers, including the eight-hour work day, the right to strike, the right to a day's rest per week, and the right to a proper indemnization following unjustified termination of the working relationship by the employer.
Article 123 was perhaps the most radical of the provisions contained in the Constitution of 1917. This article granted the working class an 8-hour work day, a 6-day workweek, and a minimum wage that was equal across sex and nationality lines. Article 123, also gave workers the right to organize and go on strike. These labor initiatives were intended to give the working class a relief to the many abuses and hardships they faced from previously uncontrolled labor managers.
[edit] Article 130
States that church(es) and state are to remain separate. It provides for the obligatory state registration of all "churches and religious groupings" and places a series of restrictions on priests and ministers of all religions (ineligible to hold public office, to canvas on behalf of political parties or candidates, to inherit from persons other than close blood relatives, etc.).
[edit] Other articles
Article 18 makes provisions relating to arrest and imprisonment. The Article's emphasis on "social readjustment of the offender" was interpreted for a time after 2001 as forbidding sentences of life imprisonment, which led to the refusal of some extradition requests from the United States.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
- Niemeyer, E. Victor, Jr. Revolution at Querétaro : the Mexican constitutional convention of 1916-1917 Austin : University of Texas Press, c1974. ISBN 0-292-77005-7
[edit] External links
- (Spanish) Official website of the Mexican Constitution
- (Spanish) The most recent text of the Constitution in the Chamber of Deputies website
- The Constitution as of 1968 (translation)
