Mexico, the form of government whose state and territorial structure will be considered by us, is a country located on the northern, widest part of the isthmus, extending south of the border of the United States and connecting the two Americas: North and South.
Its area is 1958 thousand square meters. km Of these, 5.4 thousand square meters. km falls on the islands. The United Mexican States are washed by the waters of the Gulf of California and the Pacific Ocean on the west coast, and by the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico in the east . The country borders in the south with Belize and Guatemala. Mexico is a state that is the cradle of New World civilizations. Today, about a fifth of the population of Latin America will live in it .
The most important facts from the history of Mexico
Before we talk about what form of government in Mexico, we suggest first to get acquainted with the main events of its history that influenced the formation of the territorial-state system. The territory of Mexico has long been inhabited by Indian tribes (Olmecs, Toltecs, Mayans, Aztecs, etc.), which reached a fairly high level of development. In the period from the 16th to the beginning of the 19th century, this country was a colony of Spain. In 1821, she gained independence. As a result of what happened in 1910-17. The bourgeois-democratic revolution created the foundations of the modern social and political structure of the state. All these events have influenced the form of government in Mexico today. This state is today an agro-industrial country. Capitalism in it is developed at an average level.
Mexican constitutions
The form of government in Mexico is enshrined in the Constitution. In the country at different periods of history, only 3 main laws acted. Adopted in 1824, the Constitution established a federal structure. The form of government indicated in it has remained unchanged to this day. The US federal system was taken as a model. In 1857, the following constitution was adopted. She has granted many civil and political rights. The constitution in force today was adopted on February 5, 1917.
This law has maintained a democratic and liberal character, as well as an essential part of the 1857 law. However, there are revolutionary provisions in it. The 1917 Constitution included the right to work, the principles of agrarian reform, social justice, anti-clericalism and nationalism. According to this document, officials representing all the main political organizations of the country were deprived of the right to be elected for a second term. The 1917 Constitution significantly strengthened the executive branch in a country like Mexico. Its form of government is the presidential republic. Here is a liberal political regime that combines elements of bureaucratic authoritarianism and democracy.
Legal system
In general, the legal system of a state such as Mexico belongs to the Romano-German system of law. She is part of her Latin American group, quite isolated. The legal system of Mexico was formed, like many other countries in this group, on the basis of the following four legal cultures: Spanish, Native American, Anglo-American and French.
History of the development of the legal system
Its initial basis is the socio-normative system of Indians, the indigenous population of the state. It is still partially preserved, especially in the field of activity and organization of rural communities. The colonialists of Spain had to recognize them and sanction Native American pre-legal and legal norms. At the same time, the colonial activity actively carried out by the Spaniards led to the establishment of Spanish legal culture in Mexico. It is based on the traditions of Roman legal thinking and Roman law.
Mexico, having achieved independence in 1821, like other countries in the region, began to create its own legal system. It was based on the legislation of bourgeois France, and not semi-feudal Spain. French lawyers and enlighteners put forward the idea of a logically harmonious system of law, which turned out to be in tune with the sentiments of the Mexican bourgeoisie. The form of government in Mexico is currently based on these standards.
If the model for Mexican private law after gaining independence became European law, then for public law - the US Constitution. Among the ideas perceived under the influence of North American constitutionalism include the separation of powers, federalism, the system of checks and balances of presidential power, etc. All these principles, tested earlier in the United States, were reflected in the first Mexican constitutions, and then developed in the current basic law 1917, which indicates the current form of government in Mexico.
System of laws
Like all other Latin American countries, Mexican law is well codified. In almost all the main branches of private and public law, separate codes have been adopted. Their system is being supplemented on an increasing scale by current legislation.
As for the laws, they are divided into ordinary and organic, that is, those that are adopted by the direct order of the Constitution. The federal form of government in Mexico suggests that the states have fairly large legislative powers. They adopt their civil procedural, civil, criminal procedural and criminal codes, as well as financial and administrative legislation. The conflict of law norm, enshrined in Mexico by the 1917 Constitution, provides for an important provision. It lies in the fact that the contradiction between the law of the federation and the state entails the application of the rule of federal law. In recent decades, by-laws have played an increasingly important role among sources of law in Mexico (both at the state and federal levels).
Municipal acts are the lowest level of the system. The form of government in Mexico in the 20th century implies that municipalities, in accordance with the Constitution, must issue regulations on good governance and procedures in accordance with standards adopted by state legislatures. In addition, they must issue circulars, administrative regulations, as well as general provisions relevant to their competence.
Executive branch
The head of the executive branch is the President in a country like Mexico. The form of government in this state is federal. Political power is actually in the hands of the national government located in Mexico City. The President is elected by universal direct suffrage for a term of 6 years. The candidate must be at least 35 years old, must reside in the country for a year before the election, and be a Mexican-born. In the event of the death of the incumbent, new elections are called for. They can also take place due to the inability of the head of state to perform duties during the first two years of the presidential term.
Today, the President of Mexico is Enrique Peña Nieto (his photo is presented above). He was elected in 2012. The president was born in 1966, July 20, that is, now he is 49 years old. He is the successor to Felipe Calderon. In the election, the Mexican president won about 37% of the vote. Before occupying such a responsible position, he was the Governor of the State of Mexico for 6 years (from 2005 to 2011), and even earlier (2003-04) he was a deputy of the local parliament. The current president represents the Institutional Revolutionary Party.
Presidential Powers
The head of the executive branch has many powers. He has the right to legislative initiative, he can appoint and dismiss senior civil servants, including governors of states, territories, federal districts. The President promulgates laws. In addition, he commands the armed forces.
The President is a pivotal figure in the mechanism of state power, which exercises government in Mexico. He owns, among others, the veto. However, it was not widespread in this state, since in the system of relations between the President and Congress that has actually developed, the former can control the entire legislative process, although the form of government in Mexico does not imply this. The powers of the president include the imposition of a state of emergency in the country, the suspension of various constitutional guarantees, and he can also interfere in the internal affairs of the Mexican states. In cases specified in the Constitution, he has the right to issue decrees that have the force of law. He may also exercise this right in accordance with the authority vested in him by Congress.
Federal administration
The exercise of executive power by the president takes place through the federal administration. It operates on the basis of the Organic Law promulgated by Congress. The federal administration includes ministries headed by ministers (state secretaries), as well as administrative departments.
What else needs to be told, revealing the topic "Form of government and territorial-state system of Mexico"? All orders, decisions, decrees and decrees of the President must be signed by the corresponding head of the administrative department or the secretary of state, the jurisdiction of which refers to this issue. Otherwise, they are not enforceable. Heads of administrative departments and secretaries of state at the opening of the session of the Congress must provide the President with a report on the affairs in their departments. The cabinet is represented by 19 state departments: foreign affairs, internal affairs, navy, defense, energy and mining, finance, communications and transport, agriculture and water resources, labor and social security, education, agrarian reform, presidential administration, tourism, healthcare, justice, fisheries, as well as financial control.
We talked about the executive branch. You also learned about how the forms of government and government in Mexico have changed throughout history. We now turn to the consideration of the legislative branch in this country.
Legislature
She is vested, according to the Constitution, the National Congress, consisting of two houses. The lower, or chamber of deputies (pictured above), is represented by 500 members. Deputies are elected for a term of 3 years in accordance with universal suffrage. Out of every 250 thousand people or a part thereof exceeding 125 thousand, there is one deputy. 300 of them (500 of them, as we have already said) are selected in single-mandate constituencies, the other 200 - according to the principle of proportional representation.
The photo above shows the Senate building located in the capital, Mexico City. The Senate is the Upper House. It is represented by 128 members. They are selected by 4 from each state, as well as the federal metropolitan area. Elections are held by direct universal suffrage. Deputies receive powers for a period of 6 years. At the same time, every 6 years there is a complete rotation of Senate deputies in a country such as Mexico, whose republican form of government implies that public authorities should be elected or appointed for a fixed term.
Following the 1993 reform, opposition parties were given at least a quarter of all Senate seats. Every year, a congress is convened for the session. It is held from September 1 to December 31. Legislative powers during a break in the parliament belong to the standing committee. Both houses participate in her appointment.
Party representation
The state form of government in Mexico implies that, according to the Constitution, re-election to any public office is prohibited, including both houses of Congress. In Mexico in 1993 adopted an amendment to the Constitution. According to her, the "point of subordination" should be excluded. According to it, if a party gains 35% of the vote throughout the country, it will automatically be given the majority of seats. This amendment does not allow any party to get more than 315 seats in the Lower House. By the way, amendments to the basic law of the country are accepted only if they get the approval of at least 325 deputies. This means that no party can do this on its own.
Executive power was controlled by Congress only in theory until the 1990s. In reality, the power of the president was almost absolute. This was because the Institutional Revolutionary Party (IRP), which ruled at that time, owned the vast majority of seats in both houses. In July 1997, midterm elections were held that stripped the IRP of this privilege. Nevertheless, most of the seats in the Senate were reserved for this party. After the 2000 elections, not a single party has a majority in Congress.
Adoption of laws
Any draft decrees and laws, the discussion of which does not fall within the exclusive competence of the Upper or Lower House, are discussed successively in each of them. A bill approved by the one in which it was originally submitted is then forwarded to another for discussion. If it is approved by another chamber, it is given to the executive branch. That, in the absence of objections, immediately publishes it. The draft decree or law, partially or completely rejected by the executive branch, is returned with comments to the appropriate chamber, the one from which it came. Then the procedure is repeated. The draft will become a decree or law if it manages to gain 2/3 of the number of votes in each of the chambers. After that, the executive branch publishes it.
If the project was rejected by one of the chambers, he returns with the corresponding comments to the one from which he proceeded. If it is adopted after a repeated discussion by an absolute majority of the members, then it shall be returned to the chamber that rejected it. She again considers this draft and, having approved it with the same majority of votes, provides it to the executive branch. If the draft is not approved by the chamber again, it cannot be submitted again within one session.
Judicial system
We continue to characterize such a country as Mexico. The form of government and the state system were considered by us. It remains to tell only about the judicial system. It is divided in Mexico into state and federal courts. They apply local and federal laws, respectively. The Supreme Court is at the head of the federal judicial system. It consists of 21 judges. They are appointed for a term of 6 years by the president, with the consent of the Senate. The Supreme Court has administrative and judicial power over the lower organs of the system. There are exit district (12), unitary exit district (9 total) and district (68 total) courts.
The highest court in the country is the Supreme Court of the Republic. It consists of 21 core members and 5 additional. It acts as part of the Chambers or Plenum. Additional members of this court participate in the Plenum only when they replace the representatives of the Supreme Court. The last of its members annually elects a chairman who can be re-elected.
The President of the Republic appoints members of the Supreme Court. Their candidatures must also be approved by the House of Senators. By the way, if the decision was not made within a certain time period, this is equal to approval.
District and district courts are formed by the Supreme Court of the Republic. For four years, judges must perform their duties. In case of promotion or re-election, they can be removed from their posts only in the manner of a political court (impeachment). The Supreme Court of the Republic, in addition, appoints additional district or district judges. They should help the jury or the courts, which are overworked.
So, we briefly described a country like Mexico. The form of government in this country, as well as its state-territorial structure, were generally considered. We hope you find this information useful. The form of government and territorial structure of Mexico are topics that can be disclosed for a long time. We tried to provide only the most important information on these issues.