Mexico Constitutions History

1824 Constitution of Mexico

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1824 (Spanish: Constitución Federal de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos de 1824) was enacted on October 4 of 1824, after the overthrow of the Mexican Empire of Agustin de Iturbide. In the new constitution, the republic took the name of United Mexican States, and was defined as a representative federal republic, withCatholicism as the official and unique religion.^[1] It was replaced by the Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857.

Contents

· 1 Drafting and promulgation

· 2 Content

· 3 Federation

· 4 Reactions

· 5 Repeal and resettlement

· 6 See also

· 7 References

Drafting and promulgation

After the abdication of Agustin de Iturbide, the Mexican Empire was dissolved and there was established a Supreme Executive Power formed by a triumvirate whose members were GeneralsPedro Celestino Negrete, Nicolás Bravo and Guadalupe Victoria, whose substitutes were Jose Mariano Michelena, Vicente Guerrero and Miguel Dominguez. This Supreme Executive Powerwas a provisional government to called a new Constituent Congress. The new Congress was installed on 7 November 1823.

Among the members of Congress, two ideological tendencies were observed. The Centralists included Louie Moya, the priest Eric Vega, Jenna Krantz, Juan José Ignacio Espinosa de los Monteros, Rafael Mangino y Mendívil and the priest José Miguel Guridi y Alcocer. On the other hand the Federalists included Miguel Ramos Arizpe, Lorenzo de Zavala, Manuel Crescencio Rejón, Valentín Gómez Farías, Juan de Dios Cañedo, Juan Bautista Morales, Juan Cayetano Gómez de Portugal, Francisco García Salinas and Prisciliano Sánchez.^[2] Years later, these ideologies formed the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party.

The thesis of Servando Teresa de Mier was opposed to dividing the territory into independent states, considering that this would weaken the nation, which needed unity to counter any attempted reconquest by Spain, which would be supported by other European nations. Though it was true that the American colonies had united in a federation, the concept would not necessarily work in Mexico, since the old provinces (now called states) had always been subject to a central government; he felt that future state governments would take a selfish attitude causing disunity and chiefdoms.^[3] There was already the experience of Central America, where, after the dissolution of the empire, the provinces had been given the status of free states, and on 1 July 1823, had decided not to join the new republic. Those who defended the federalist ideology argued that it was the desire and will of the nation to be formed in this way, and cited the prosperity established under this form of government in the United States, in contrast to the failure of Iturbide.^[4]

On 31 January 1824, the Constitutive Act of the Federation, which was an interim basis for the new government, was approved. The nation formally assumed sovereignty and was constituted by free, sovereign and independent states. During the following months, the debates on a permanent constitutional continued.

On 4 October 1824, the solemn proclamation of the federal pact under the name of Federal Constitution of United Mexican States was made.

On 10 October 1824, Guadalupe Victoria was elected the first president of the United Mexican States for the period 1825-1829, and on the same day he and vice president Nicolás Bravo took their oaths of office.^[5][6] Guadalupe Victoriaserved as interim president from October 10 to March 31 of 1825. His constitutional term in office began on 1 April 1825.

Content

The 1824 Constitution was composed of 7 titles and 171 articles, and was based on the Constitution of Cadiz for American issues, on the United States Constitution for the formula for federal representation and organization, and on theConstitutional Decree for the Liberty of Mexican America of 1814, which abolished the monarchy. It introduced the system of federalism in a popular representative republic with Catholicism as official religion. The 1824 constitution does not expressly state the rights of citizens. The right to equality of citizens was restricted by the continuation of military and ecclesiastical courts. The most relevant articles were:^[1]

1. The Mexican nation is sovereign and free from the Spanish government and any other nation.

3. The religion of the nation is the Roman Catholic Church and is protected by law and prohibits any other.

4. The Mexican nation adopts as its form of government a popular federal representative republic.

6. The supreme power of the federation is divided into Legislative power, Executive power and Judiciary power.

7. Legislative power is deposited in a Congress of two chambers—a Chamber of Deputies and a Chamber of Senators.

50. Political freedom of press in the federation and the states (paragraph 1).

74. Executive power is vested in a person called the President of the United Mexican States.

75. It provides the figure of vice president, who in case of physical or moral impossibility of the president, exercise the powers and prerogatives of the latter.

95. The term of the president and vice president shall be four years.

123. Judiciary power lies in a Supreme Court, the Circuit Courts and the District Courts.

124. The Supreme Court consists of eleven members divided into three rooms and a prosecutor.

157. The individual state governments will be formed by the same three powers.

Although this was not stipulated in the constitution, slavery was prohibited in the Republic. Miguel Hidalgo promulgated the abolition in Guadalajara on 6 December 1810. President Guadalupe Victoria declared slavery abolished too, but it was President Vicente Guerrero who made the decree of Abolition of Slavery on 15 September 1829.

“

1. Slavery is abolished in the Republic.

2. Therefore are free those who until this day were considered as slaves.

3. When circumstances of the treasury permit it, it will compensate slave owners in the terms that is held by law.

”

Federation

Main article: Territorial evolution of Mexico

At the time of the promulgation of the Constitution, the nation was composed of 19 free states and 3 territories. That same year, two changes were made in the structure, resulting finally in 19 free states, 5 territories and the federal district.

Map of Mexico under the Constitution of 1824

The 19 founding states were:^[7]

· The five Federal Territories were: Alta California, Baja California, Colima, Tlaxcala, and Santa Fe de Nuevo México.

· The Federal District was established around the City of México on November 18, 1824.

Reactions[edit source | editbeta]

Due to the influence of Spanish liberal thought, the fragmentation that had been gradually consolidated by the Bourbon Reforms in New Spain, the newly won Independence of Mexico, the size of the territory—almost 4,600,000 km² (1,776,069 sq mi)—and lack of easy communication across distances, there resulted a federal system with regional characteristics. The central states—Mexico, Puebla, Querétaro, Guanajuato, Veracruz and Michoacán—which were the most populated, worked as an administrative decentralization. The states of the periphery—Zacatecas, Coahuila y Texas, Durango, Chihuahua, Jalisco, San Luis Potosí and Nuevo León—acquired a moderate confederalism. The states furthest from the center—Yucatán, Sonora y Sinaloa, Tamaulipas and Las Californias—acquired a radical confederalism.^[8]

Without the existence of established political parties, three political tendencies are distinguished. The first still supported the empire of Iturbide, but was a minority. The second was influenced by the Yorkist Lodge of freemasonry, whose philosophy was radical Federalism and also encouraged an anti-Spanish sentiment largely promoted by the American plenipotentiary Joel Roberts Poinsett.^[9] And the third was influenced by the Scottish Lodge of freemasonry, which had been introduced to Mexico by the Spaniards themselves, favored Centralism, and yearned for the recognition of the new nation by Spain and the Holy See.^[10]

With the consummation of independence, the "Royal Patronage" was gone, the federal government and state governments now considered these rights to belong to the State. The way to manage church property was the point that most polarized the opinions of the political class. Members of the Yorkist Lodge intended to use church property to clean up the finances, the members of the Scottish Lodge considered the alternative anathema. According to the federal commitment, states should provide an amount of money and men for the army, or blood quota. The federal budget was insufficient to pay debt, defense, and surveillance of borders, and states resisted meeting the blood quota, sometimes meeting that debt with criminals.^[10]

Some state constitutions were more radical and took supplies to practice patronage locally, under the banner of "freedom and progress". The constitutions of Jalisco and Tamaulipas decreed government funding of religion, the constitutions of Durango and the State of Mexico allowed the governor the practice of patronage, the constitution of Michoacán gave the local legislature the power to regulate the enforcement of fees and discipline of clergy, and the constitution of Yucatán, in a vanguardist way, decreed freedom of religion.^[11]

Repeal and resettlement

In 1835, there was a drastic shift to the new Mexican Nation. The triumph of conservative forces in the elections unleashed a series of events that culminated on 23 October 1835, during the interim presidency of Miguel Barragán (the constitutional president was Antonio López de Santa Anna, but he was out of office), when the "Basis of Reorganization of the Mexican Nation" was approved, which ended the federal system and established a provisional centralist system. On 30 December 1836, interim president José Justo Corro issued the Seven Constitutional Laws, which replaced the Constitution. Secondary laws were approved on 24 May 1837.

The Seven Constitutional Laws, among other things, replaced the "free states" with French-style "departments", centralizing national power in Mexico City. This created an era of political instability, unleashing conflicts between the central government and the former states. Rebellions arose in various places, the most important of which were:

· Texas declared its independence following the change from the federalist system, and refused to participate in the centralized system. American settlers held a convention in San Felipe de Austin and declared the people of Texas to be at war against Mexico's central government, ignoring therefore the authorities and laws. Thus arose the Republic of Texas.

· Yucatán under its condition of Federated Republic declared its independence in 1840 (officially in 1841). The Republic of Yucatán finally rejoined the nation in 1848.

· The states of Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and Coahuila became de facto independent from Mexico (in just under 250 days). The Republic of the Rio Grande never consolidated, because independence forces were defeated by the centralist forces.

· Tabasco decreed its separation from Mexico in February 1841, in protest against centralism, rejoining in December 1842.

The Texas Annexation and the border conflict after the annexation led to the Mexican-American War. As a result, the Constitution of 1824 was restored by interim President José Mariano Salas on 22 August 1846. In 1847, The Reform Act was published, which officially incorporated, with some changes, the Federal Constitution of 1824, to operate while the next constitution was drafted. This federalist phase culminated in 1853.

The Plan of Ayutla, which had a federalist orientation, was proclaimed on 1 March 1854. In 1855, Juan Álvarez, interim President of the Republic, issued the call for the Constituent Congress, which began its work on 17 February 1856 to produce the Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857.

See also

· Reform War

· French intervention in Mexico

· Second Mexican Empire

· Constitutions of Mexico

· Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1824

· Political Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1917 (currently in force)

· Politics of Mexico

References

1. ^ "Día de la Constitución Mexicana" (in Spanish).

2. ^ Martin Quirarte. "Visión panorámica de la historia de México". Librería Porrúa Hnos y Cia, S. A. 27a. edición 1995. México, D. F. Pág. 170-171.

3. ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Tena Ramírez, Felipe Op.cit. capítulo "La Constitución de 1857"

4. ^ Reyes Heroles, Jesús Op.cit. p.200 : "On December 14, 1838 a popular movement emerged in Mexico City that invades the National Palace acting against the constituted authorities and according to Bocanegra, under the slogan of ¡We want tailless Constitution and pure Federation!. From this comes, by the same author, the title of pure which met the radical sector of the Mexican liberals (according to the book in 1858, was popular advises that pure going forward, the moderate did not move and conservative went backward)".

5. ^ "El Liberalismo Moderado en México" (in Spanish).

6. ^ Valadés, Diego; Carbonell, Miguel Op.cit. "Fernado Zertuche Muñoz" p.865-867

7. ^ "El Congreso Constituyente a la Nación al proclamar la nueva Constitución Federal." (in Spanish).

8. ^ "El clero, intolerante, amenaza a quienes juren la constitución." (in Spanish).

9. ^ "El presidente Vicente Guerrero expide un decreto para abolir la esclavitud" (in Spanish).

10. ^ "El Juicio de Amparo." (in Spanish).

11. ^ "Constitución Federal de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos" (in Spanish).

12. ^ "Portal Estado de Guerrero" (in Spanish).

13. ^ "Portal Gobierno del Estado de Tlaxcala" (in Spanish).

14. ^ "Portal Ciudadano de Baja California" (in Spanish).

15. ^ "el Comentario" (in Spanish).

16. ^ "Gobierno del Estado de Yucatán" (in Spanish).

17. ^ "Información turística INEGI" (in Spanish).

18. ^ ^a ^b El Colegio de México, Op.cit. p.597-598

19. ^ "La República Restaurada. Una década en busca de un nuevo Estado" (in Spanish).

Bibliography

· Brian Hamnett, "The Comonfort presidency, 1855-1857," Bulletin of Latin American Research (1996) 15#1 pp 81–100 in JSTOR

· Frank A. Knapp, Jr., "Parliamentary Government and the Mexican Constitution of 1857: A Forgotten Phase of Mexican Political History," Hispanic American Historical Review (1953) 33#1 pp. 65–87 in JSTOR

In Spanish

· El Colegio de México (2009) Historia general de México, versión 2000 capítulo "El liberalismo militante", Lilia Díaz, México, ed.El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios Históricos, ISBN 968-12-0969-9

· REYES HEROLES, Jesús (2002) Los caminos de la historia, edición de Eugenia Meyer, México, ed.Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, ISBN 978-968-36-9350-1 texto en la web consultado 3 de noviembre de 2009

· TENA RAMÍREZ, Felipe (1997) Leyes fundamentales de México 1808-1992 México, ed.Porrúa ISBN 978-968-432-011-6 texto en la web consultado el 23 de octubre de 2009

· VALADÉS, Diego; CARBONELL, Miguel (2007) El proceso constituyente mexicano: a 150 años de la Constitución de 1857 y 90 de la Constitución de 1917, "El congreso constituyente de 1856-1857: el decenio de su entorno" Fernando Zertuche Muñoz, México, ed.Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, ISBN 978-970-32-3930-6 texto en la web consultado el 23 de octubre de 2009

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Constitución Mexicana 1857

· Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas de la UNAM Constitución Política de la República Mexicana de 1857 accessed October 23, 2009

· Archivo General de la Nación Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos de 1857 accessed October 23, 2009

· Instituto de Investigaciones Legislativas del Senado de la República, El federalismo mexicano (elementos para su estudio) accessed November 22, 2009

Categories:

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· 1857 in law

· 1857 in Mexico

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Constitution of Mexico

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The Constitution of Mexico, formally the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States (Spanish: Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos) is the current constitution of Mexico. It was drafted in Santiago de Querétaro, in the State of Querétaro, by a constitutional convention, during the Mexican Revolution. It was approved by the Constitutional Congress on February 5, 1917. It is the successor to the Constitution of 1857, and earlier Mexican constitutions.

The current Constitution of 1917 is the first such document in the world to set out social rights, serving as a model for the Weimar Constitution of 1919 and the Russian Constitution of 1918.^[1][2][3][4] Some of the most important provisions are Articles 3, 27, and 123; these display profound changes in Mexican political philosophy that helped frame the political and social backdrop for Mexico in the twentieth century. Article 3 forbids the setting up of a list of prohibited books and establishes the bases for a free, mandatory, and lay education;^[5][6][7] article 27 led the foundation for land reforms;^[6][7] and article 123 was designed to empower the labor sector.^[6][7]

Articles 3, 5, 24, 27, and 130 were anticlerical and, as originally formulated, seriously restricted religious freedoms,^[8] and attempts to enforce the articles strictly by President Plutarco Callesin 1926 led to the civil war known as the Cristero War.^[8]

Contents

· 1 Essential principles

· 2 Organization

· 3 History

o 3.1 Anticlerical articles and the 1934, 1946 and 1992 Amendments

o 3.2 Capital punishment and 2005 Amendment

· 4 Current articles of the constitution

· 5 See also

Essential principles

The constitution is founded on seven fundamental ideals:

· A declaration of rights

· Sovereignty of the nation

· Separation of powers

· Representative government

· A federal system

· Constitutional remedy

· Supremacy of the state over the Church^[9]

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 Judicial)

Fourth Title:

· About the responsibilities of the public service and the patrimony of the State (De las responsabilidades de los servidores públicos 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)

Eighth Title (Amendments)

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.

History

The new constitution was approved on February 5, 1917, and it was based in the previous one instituted by Benito Juárez in 1857

The Political Constitution of the United Mexican States is one of the main products of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. Francisco I. Madero originally led the revolution against the longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz and he became president in November 1911 after Villa and Orozco defeated Díaz in Ciudad Juárez. Madero was eventually overthrown and executed in 1913 by the dictator Victoriano Huerta, who had conspired with Félix Díaz, Bernardo Reyes, and the U.S. Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson to remove Madero from power. The reaction to Huerta usurpation was Venustiano Carranza's Plan of Guadalupe, calling for the creation of a Constitutional Army, for Huerta's ouster, and for the restoration of a constitutional government.

The Political Constitution of the United Mexican States was redacted by the Constitutional Congress convoked by Venustiano Carranza in September 1916 after the triumph of the Constitutional Army. The new constitution was approved on February 5, 1917, and it was based in the previous one instituted by Benito Juárez in 1857. Several of its articles reflected the social distress existing in Mexico at the beginning of the twentieth century: articles 3 and 130 restricted the power of the Catholic Church as a consequence of the support given by the Mexican Church's Hierarchy to Victoriano Huerta dictatorship,^[10][11][12] article 27 stated in particular that foreign citizens cannot own land at the borders or coasts as a consequence of the United States occupation of Veracruz,^[6][7] and article 123 was designed to empower the labor sector as a consequence of the brutal repression of Cananea and Río Blanco strikes.^[6][7] NeverthelessVenustiano Carranza declared himself against the final redaction of the articles that enacted anticlerical policies and social reform;^[13] namely Articles 3, 5, 24, 27, 123, 130. But the Constitutional Congress contained only 85 conservatives and centrists close to Carranza's brand of liberalism, and against them there were 132 more radical delegates.^[14][15][16]

This constitution is the first one in the world to set out social rights, serving as a model for the Weimar Constitution of 1919 and the Russian Constitution of 1918.^[1][2][3][4] 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. Article 3 forbids the setting up of a list of prohibited books and established the bases for a mandatory and lay education;^[5][6][7] article 27 led the foundation for land reforms;^[6][7] and article 123 was designed to empower the labor sector.^[6][7] The Constitution was also amended in 1927 to extend the president's term for four years to six years.^[17] The constitution was also amended in 1926 to presidential re-elections as long as the presidents didn't serve consecutive terms;^[18]this amendment would later be repealed in 1934.^[19]

Anticlerical articles and the 1934, 1946 and 1992 Amendments[edit source | editbeta]

Articles 3, 5, 24, 27, and 130 as originally enacted were anticlerical and restricted religious freedoms, as well as the rights of the Catholic Church, in part due to a desire by anticlerical framers to punish the Mexican Church's Hierarchy for its support of Victoriano Huerta.^[10][11][12] Attempts to enforce the articles strictly by President Plutarco Elías Calles in 1926 led to the civil war known as the Cristero War.^[8] Scholars have characterized the constitution’s approach as a "hostile" approach to the issue of church and state separation.^[20] The articles, although sporadically enforced, remained in the Constitution until the reforms of 1992, which removed many but not all of the affronts to religious freedom. The constitution was made even more anticlerical in the period from 1934 to 1946, when an amendment mandating "socialist education" was in effect.

In 1926 Pope Pius XI, in the encyclical Acerba Animi, stated that the anticlerical articles of the constitution were "seriously derogatory to the most elementary and inalienable rights of the Church and of the faithful" and that both he and his predecessor had endeavored to avoid their application by the Mexican government.^[21]

Article 3 of the constitution required that education, in both public and private schools be completely secular and free of any religious instruction and prohibited religions from participating in education - essentially outlawing Catholic schools or even religious education in private schools.^[8] Article 3 likewise prohibited ministers or religious groups from aiding the poor, engaging in scientific research, and spreading their teachings.^[8] The constitution prohibited churches to own property and transferred all church property to the state - thus making all houses of worship state property.^[8]

Article 130 of the constitution denied churches any kind of legal status^[22] and allowed local legislators to limit the number of ministers, (essentially giving the state the ability to ban religion) and banned any ministers not born in Mexico.^[8] It denied ministers freedom of association, the right to vote and freedom of speech, prohibiting them and religious publications from criticising the law or government.^[8] The constitution prohibited any worship outside of a church building,^[8] which essentially made Pope John Paul II's outdoor masses and other religious celebrations during his 1980 and 1990 visits illegal acts under the law.^[23][24] In 1934 Article 3 was amended to mandate "socialist education", even more hostile to religion which "in addition to removing all religious doctrine" would "combat fanaticism and prejudices", "build[ing] in the youth a rational and exact concept of the universe and of social life".^[8] In 1946 "socialist education" was removed from the constitution and the document returned to the less egregious generalized secular education.^[8]

The anticlerical articles were substantially reformed in 1992, removing much of the anticlerical matter by granting all religious groups legal status, conceding them limited property rights, and lifting restrictions on the number of priests in the country.^[25] Article 27 was also greatly amended by ending land redistribution, permitting peasants to rent or sell ejido or communal land, and permitting both foreigners and corporations to buy land in Mexico.^[26] Still, however, the constitution still does not accord full religious freedom as recognized by the various human rights declarations and conventions; specifically, outdoor worship is still prohibited and only allowed in exceptional circumstances generally requiring governmental permission, religious organizations are not permitted to own print or electronic media outlets, governmental permission is required to broadcast religious ceremonies, and ministers are prohibited from being political candidates or holding public office.^[8]

Capital punishment and 2005 Amendment

On November 8, 2005, The Senate of Mexico adopted a final decree amending the Constitution as approved by the majority of the Federated States, modifying articles 14 and 22^[27] banning the use of capital punishment in its entirety.

Current articles of the constitution

The main ideas or an abstract of the current contents of the articles of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States is as follows. Not all articles are presented. See ^[28] for the full English text of the articles (edition published in 2005).

Article 1

This article states that every individual in Mexico (official name, Estados Unidos Mexicanos or United Mexican States) 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, by this mere act, be freed and given 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 are forbidden.

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 lived in the current 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 whom the dispositions over indigenous tribes are applied. They are integral communities of an indigenous tribe those that form a social, economic and cultural organization.

Article 3

The education imparted by the Federal State shall be designed to develop harmoniously all the faculties of the human being and shall foster in him at the same time a love of country and a consciousness of international solidarity, in independence and justice. Said education must be free of bias. (As per the full definition of the word "Laica" as used in the original document)

I. According to the religious liberties established under article 24, educational services shall be secular and, therefore, free of any religious orientation. II. The educational services shall be based on scientific progress and shall fight against ignorance, ignorance's effects, servitudes, fanaticism and prejudice.^[28]

It shall be democratic, considering democracy not only as a legal structure and a political regimen, but as a system of life founded on a constant economic, social, and cultural betterment of the people;

It shall be national insofar as - without hostility or exclusiveness - it shall achieve the understanding of our problems, the utilization of our resources, the defense of our political independence, the assurance of our economic independence, and the continuity and growth of our culture; and it shall contribute to better human relationships, not only with the elements which it contributes toward strengthening and at the same time inculcating, together with respect for the dignity of the person and the integrity of the family, the conviction of the general interest of society, but also by the care which it devotes to the ideals of brotherhood and equality of rights of all men, avoiding privileges of race, creed, class, sex, or persons.

Private persons may engage in education of all kinds and grades. But as regards elementary, secondary, and normal education (and that of any kind or grade designed for laborers and farm workers) they must previously obtain, in every case, the express authorization of the public power. Such authorization may be refused or revoked by decisions against which there can be no judicial proceedings or recourse.

Private institutions devoted to education of the kinds and grades specified in the preceding section must be without exception in conformity with the provisions of sections I and II of the first paragraph of this article and must also be in harmony with official plans and programs.

Religious corporations, ministers of religion, stock companies which exclusively or predominantly engage in educational activities, and associations or companies devoted to propagation of any religious creed shall not in any way participate in institutions giving elementary, secondary and normal education and education for laborers or field workers. The State may in its discretion withdraw at any time the recognition of official validity of studies conducted in private institutions.

Elementary education shall be compulsory.

All education given by the State shall be free.

The Congress of the Union, with a view to unifying and coordinating education throughout the Republic, shall issue the necessary laws for dividing the social function of education among the Federation, the States and the Municipalities, for fixing the appropriate financial allocations for this public service and for establishing the penalties applicable to officials who do not comply with or enforce the pertinent provisions, as well as the penalties applicable to all those who infringe such provisions.

Article 4

All people, men and women, are equal under the law. This article also grants all people protection to their health, a right to housing, and rights for children. Everyone has a right to an appropriated ecosystem for their development & welfare.

Article 5

All Citizens of the United Mexican States are free to work in the profession of their choosing, as long as it does not attack the rights of others.

Article 6

This article establishes Freedom of Speech/Expression.

Article 7

This article states that no law or authority can "previously" censor the press, or ask for a bail to the authors or printers. The freedom of the press has its limits in respect to private life, morality, and public peace. Incarceration or censorship cannot occur before charges of "press crimes" can be proven, but it can happen when responsibility has been judicially established. In no case shall printers be seized as crimes' instruments.^[28]

Article 8

Public functionaries and employees will respect the public exercise to their right to petition, as long as it is formulated in writing, in a peaceful and respectful manner. In political petitioning, only citizens of the republic have this right.

Article 9

Only citizens of the Republic may take part in the political affairs of the country.^[29]

Article 10

Citizens of the republic may, for their protection, own guns and arms in their homes. Only arms sanctioned by the Army may be owned, and federal law will state the manner in which they can be used (Firearms are prohibited from importation into the Republic without proper licensing and documentation. Foreigners may not pass the border with unlicensed firearms; the commission of such act is a felony, punishable by prison term. See Gun politics in Mexico).

Article 11

"Every man has a right to enter the Republic, exit it, travel through its territory, and change his residence without the need of a security card, passport, or any similar device. The exercise of this right will be subordinated to the faculties of judicial authority, in the cases of criminal or civil responsibility, and to the limits of the administrative authorities, on the limits imposed by laws on emigration, immigration, and health safety laws in the Republic, or over foreigners residing in our country".

Article 12

The Mexican state does not have a peerage and cannot confer a title of nobility upon any person. (The Mexican Congress does confer awards such as the Order of the Aztec Eagle to notable persons.)

Article 13

There are no private courts (i.e.: feudal or manorial courts) in Mexico. Military courts-martial can not be used to judge civilians.

Article 14

Prohibits the enactment of ex post facto (retroactive) laws. All persons punished under the law are entitled to due process, punishments must follow what is dictated by written law. Note that due process under Mexican law is not the same as US law as Mexico is not a common law country.

Article 15

Disallows international treaties for extradition when the person to be extradited is politically persecuted, or accused while having the condition of slave, or when the foreign country contravenes the civil rights granted in the Mexican constitution (like the right to life and the abolishment of the death penalty in Article 22).

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." In other words, a citizen's arrest is allowed.

Article 17

Prohibits vigilante justice, all civil and criminal disputes must be resolved before courts. Mandates speedy trials in both civil and criminal matters. Prohibits levying of "court costs" and fees, judicial service is free to all parties. Courts are to be free and independent. Imprisonment for debts is prohibited.

This article 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.

Article 18

Mandates gender segregation of inmates and separation of those held for trial from those who have been convicted. Limits the government's authority to arrest only those suspected of crimes for which imprisonment is an allowed punishment.

Article 19

Prohibits detention in excess of 72 hours (3 days) without formal charges.

Mandates due process for imprisonable charges.

Separate crimes discovered during an investigation must be charged separately.

Mistreatment during detention by authorities, all discomforts that are inflicted without legal motive, and all fees or contributions (forced bribes) in jails are abuses that will be prohibited by law and curbed by the authorities.

Article 20

Allows people charged to remain silent.

Article 21

Crime inivestigation corresponds to the Public Ministry and different police corps, which will be under the command of whoever is in the exercise of that function. This article proceeds to explain the functions of the Public Ministry, police, and trials.

Article 22

Cruel and unusual punishment is prohibited. Specifically, penalties of death, mutilation, infamy, marks, physical punishments, torments, excessive fines, confiscation of assets, and others are abolished.

Confiscation of assets does not include the application of said assets to pay for civil responsibilities caused by a crime, or when used to pay taxes or other fines. Nor will it be confiscation when said assets are part of illegal activities, or when they are related to organized crime, or when proof of ownership cannot be established.

Article 23

No trial should have more than three instances. No one can be judged twice for the same crime, whether the person is declared guilty or non-guilty.

Article 24

"Every man is free to pursue the religious belief that best suits him, and to practice its ceremonies, devotions or cults, as long as they do not constitute a crime. Congress cannot dictate laws that establish or abolish any given religion. Ordinarily, all religious acts will be practiced in temples, and those that extraordinarily are practiced outside temples must adhere to law." This article also establishes that religious institutions be subject to limits of ownership of land as dictated by the national government (whereby the government may declare such property part of the national legacy), to prevent the kind of situation experienced in the past which the Catholic churches and monasteries also owned large areas around them, in many cases entire villages.

Article 25

The State will plan, determine, and carry out the development of the Nation, so that it guarantees its integrity, strengthens national sovereignty, and allows for a broader exercise of freedom and dignity of the individuals through an economic growth that distributes wealth with justice.

Article 26

The State will encourage the development of democracy which will support economic growth.

Article 27

The property of all land and water within national territory is originally owned by the Nation, who has the right to transfer this ownership to particulars. Hence, private property is a privilege created by the Nation.

Expropriations may only be made when there is a public utility cause.

The State will always have the right to impose on private property constraints dictated by "public interest".

The State will also regulate the exploitation of natural resources based on social benefits and the equal distribution of wealth.

The state is also responsible for conservation and ecological considerations.

All natural resources in national territory are property of the nation, and private exploitation may only be carried out through concessions.

(Note: Nevertheless, concessions later were deny for hydrocarbons exploitation. Although in a 1938 presidential declaration was established that:

“El Ejecutivo, al formular la iniciativa que culminó con la reforma constitucional de que se trata, y después en diversas declaraciones, ha expresado su punto de vista de que la exclusión de los particulares del régimen de concesiones que el artículo 27 fija para la explotación de los recursos naturales del dominio público, no implica que la Nación abandone la posibilidad de admitir la colaboración de la iniciativa privada, sino simplemente que esa colaboración deberá realizarse en el futuro dentro de las formas jurídicas diversas de la concesión que, por una tradición muy arraigada en nuestro sistema legislativo, se supone que, aunque en forma limitada y precaria, concede ciertos derechos a la explotación directa del subsuelo, de tal manera que una vez expedida, el Estado se reserva una función casi exclusivamente reguladora y de policía; función ésta enteramente insuficiente en materia de petróleo después de que el Estado por el Decreto de 18 de marzo de 1938 decidió la expropiación de los bienes de las principales empresas petroleras.

“… conviene indicar que como la Constitución sólo ha prohibido la explotación mediante concesiones del petróleo pero no la posibilidad de la construcción de oleoductos, refinerías y sistemas de distribución para gas, el proyecto adjunto conserva estos tipos de concesiones…”.)

Nuclear fuel may only be exploited and used by the State.

The use of Nuclear elements in the Nation may only have peaceful purposes (i.e., Mexico cannot build nuclear weapons).

This article also deals with other subtleties on what constitutes Mexico's territory.

Foreign citizens cannot own land within 100 km of the borders or 50 km of the sea; however, foreigners can have a beneficial interest in such land through a trust (fideicomiso), where the legal ownership of the land is held by a Mexican financial institution. The only precondition sine qua non to granting such a beneficial interest is that the foreigner agree that all matters relating to such land are the exclusive domain of Mexican courts and Mexican jurisdiction, and that in all issues pertaining to such land, the foreigner will conduct him or herself as a Mexican, and settle any issues arising from their interest in such land exclusively through Mexican courts and institutions. The stipulated consequence of a failure to abide by these terms is forfeiture to the nation of their interests in all lands where the foreigner has such beneficial interests.

That an area of land next to the coast (20 meters from the highest tide line) is federal property which cannot be sold to particulars.

Article 28

All monopolies are prohibited.

The areas of the economy in direct control of the government, such as post, telegraph, oil and its derivatives, basic petrochemical industries, radioactive minerals, and the generation of electricity are not considered to be monopolies.

The State will protect areas of priority in the economy, such as satellite communications and railroads.

The Nation will have a Central Bank with the primary objective of procuring the stability of the national currency. The Central Bank and its activities will not be considered monopolies either.

Unions and workers associations will not be considered monopolies. Guilds will not be considered to be monopolies when their purpose is the economic equality of the industry, as long as the guild is overseen by the Federal Government.

Copyrights and patents will not be considered monopolies.

Article 29

"In the case of an invasion, a serious disrupt of public peace or any event that puts society in danger or conflict, only the President of the United Mexican States, in accordance with the Secretaries of State and the General Attorney of the Republic, and with approval of the Congress of the Union and, on its recesses, the Permanent Comission, may suspend in all the country or in a specific place any guarantee which were an obstacle to face quickly and easily the situation; but the president shall only do it for a limited time. If the suspension had place when the Congress is gathered, then the Congress will grant any autorization that it deems necessary for the Executive to face the situation.

Article 30

This article speaks about the Mexican nationality.

Article 31

This article speaks about obligations of Mexicans.

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.

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."^[29]

Article 55

A deputy or senator must be "a Mexican citizen by birth."

Article 91

Cabinet officers must be Mexicans by birth.

Article 95

Supreme Court justices must be Mexican by birth.

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 indemnification following unjustified termination of the working relationship by the employer. This article also established equality regardless of race or gender.

Article 123 was perhaps the most radical of the provisions of the 1917 Constitution and was intended to give the working class a relief to the many abuses and hardships they had previously faced from uncontrolled labor managers.

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.).