English I

Syklio
Aldo Sanchez
English I
Mexicos Government Structure
Division of Sovereignty in Mexico.
The political organization in Mexico, concerning the exercising of the public power, is given
in three different branches: The Executive, The Legislative, and The Judiciary. Each one
of these realizes specific functions that are expressed on the Mexican Constitution.
Although they are different one from another, they have and keep a close relation related
to the enrichment of their constitutional duties.

In Mexico, the type of government is based upon a presidency, that is, the president is the
one that has the most saying within the entire political system, as well with the law-making
decisions.
The EXECUTIVE power is laid on one person, the President of the Republic of Mexico, who
is elected on a popular form, directly, secret, and by the majority of registered voters
in the thirty-one states and the Federal District. The president holds the formal titles of
chief of state, head of government, and commander in chief of the armed forces. During
six years, hes in that position, but he cant never be elected once again.
Chapter III of Title III of the Constitution deals with the Executive branch of
government and sets forth the powers of the president, as well as the qualifications for
the office. He is vested with the "supreme executive power of the Union."
To be eligible to serve as president, Article 82 of the Constitution specifies that the
following requirements must be met:
Be a natural-born citizen of Mexico ("mexicano por nacimiento") able to exercise
full citizenship rights, with at least one parent who is a natural-born citizen of
Mexico.
Be a resident of Mexico for at least twenty (20) years.
Be 35 years or older at the time of the election.
Be a resident of Mexico for the entire year prior to the election (although
absences of 30 days or fewer are explicitly stated not to interrupt residency).
Not be an official or minister of any church or religious denomination.
Not be in active military service during the six months prior to the election.
Not be a secretary of state or under-secretary of state, attorney general,
governor of a State, or head of the government of the Federal District, unless
"separated from the post" (resigned or been granted permanent leave of absence)
at least six months prior to the election.
Presidential elections have been held every six years since 1934 (the constitution
previously provided for a four-year mandate). However, until 1994, most elections were not
considered to have met international standards of transparency and cleanliness.
A president can never be reelected, and there is no vice president. If the presidential
office falls vacant during the first two years of a sexenio, the congress designates an
interim president, who, in turn, must call a special presidential election to complete the
term. If the vacancy occurs during the latter four years of a sexenio, the congress
designates a provisional president for the remainder of the term.
The president is elected by direct, popular, universal suffrage. Whoever wins a simple
plurality of the national vote is elected; there is no runoff election.
Upon taking office, the President raises his/her right arm to shoulder-level and takes the
following oath:
I affirm to follow and uphold the Political Constitution of the United Mexican
States and the laws that emanate from it, and to perform the office of President of the
Republic which the people have conferred upon me with loyalty and patriotism, in all actions
looking after the good and prosperity of the Union; and if I do not fulfill these obligations,
may the Nation demand it of me.
In addition to the president's prerogatives in legislative matters, he or she may freely
appoint and dismiss cabinet officials and almost all employees of the executive branch.
Subject to traditionally routine ratification by the Senate, the president appoints
ambassadors, consuls general, magistrates of the Supreme Court, and the mayor of the
Federal District. The president also appoints the magistrates of the Supreme Court of the
Federal District, subject to ratification by the Chamber of Deputies. Presidential
appointment authority also extends downward through the federal bureaucracy to a wide
assortment of midlevel offices in the secretariats, other cabinet-level agencies,
semiautonomous agencies, and other inferior agencies and secretariats.
The LEGISLATIVE branch has the faculty of elaborating laws that order the way of
social, economic, and cultural way of life in Mexico. Also, it can modify the ones that exist
already found on the Constitution, based on the opinion of the citizens.
It is composed by a bicameral assembly; that is, composed of two chambers: the Chamber
of Deputies and the Senate. Its structure and responsibilities are defined in the Third
Title, Second Chapter, Articles 50 to 79 of the 1917 Constitution.
The Senate comprises 128 seats, 96 members are elected by direct popular vote for six-
year terms; the other 32 seats are allocated based on proportional representation.
The House of Deputies has 500 seats, 300 members are elected by popular vote to three-
year terms; the other 200 seats are allocated according to proportional representation. In
keeping with the Mexican tradition of "no reelection," deputies and senators are not
eligible to immediately succeed themselves. Thus, the Congress is one of the few
democratically elected legislatures in the world that is completely renewed at each
election.
These two Chambers are integrated by common citizens, some professionals, and their
main function is to represent the sovereignty of the Mexican pueblo in the making of
political duties, and on the elaboration of new and the updating of the named ones.
Deputies, as well as senators, are elected directly, by exercising the right to votes for
their representatives, because thats what they are.
Their motto to work hard to make a better country for everyone is `The Country is
First`.
The powers of the congress include the right to pass laws, impose taxes, declare war,
approve the national budget, approve or reject treaties and conventions made with foreign
countries, and ratify diplomatic appointments. The Senate addresses all matters
concerning foreign policy, approves international agreements, and confirms presidential
appointments. The Chamber of Deputies addresses all matters pertaining to the
government's budget and public expenditures.
The deputies have the power to appoint a new president IF theres an absence of during
the first two years of his term, he gets to finish the sexenio, BUT if hes absence during
the last four years, the congress gets to appoint a provisional president.
The next, is what the Congress is capable of:
Initiate the making of new laws, discuss, and approve them, in the given case.
Dictate laws over the general health of the republic.
Admit new states into the federation.
Approve the collection of taxes for public spend [Hacienda].
Legislate over matters like PEMEX, mine work, commerce, and other public topics.
Create and secede federal employees.
Approve international treaties.
Name members of the Supreme Court of Justice.
Finally, the JUDICIARY branch, its power, is held in the Supreme Court of Justice of
the Nation, the Council of the Federal Judiciary and the collegiate, unitary and district
tribunals.
Its principal function consists in the administration of justice, in other words, is in
charge of acknowledging and resolving conflicts that emerge within the secretariats,
public office, and among the society in general.
It is divided into federal and state systems. Mexico's highest court is the Supreme
Court of Justice, located in Mexico City. It consists of twenty-one magistrates and
five auxiliary judges, all appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate or
the Permanent Committee.
Mexican supreme court justices must be Mexican citizens by birth, thirty-five to
sixty-five years old, and must have resided in Mexico and held a law degree during the
five years preceding their nomination. According to the constitution, Supreme Court
justices are appointed for life but are subject to impeachment by the Chamber of
Deputies.
The Supreme Court of Justice may meet in joint session or in separate chambers,
depending on the type of case before it. The high court is divided into four chambers,
each with five justices. These are the Penal Affairs Chamber, Administrative Affairs
Chamber, Civil Affairs Chamber, and Labor Affairs Chamber.
There are three levels of federal courts under the Supreme Court of Justice: twelve
Collegiate Circuit Courts, each with three magistrates; nine Unitary Circuit Courts,
each with six magistrates; and sixty-eight District Courts, each with one judge.
Federal judges for the lower courts are appointed by the Supreme Court of Justice.
The Collegiate Circuit Courts deal with the protection of individual rights, most
commonly hearing cases where an individual seeks a writ of amparo, a category of legal
protection comparable to a broad form of habeas corpus that safeguards individual
civil liberties and property rights. The Unitary Circuit Courts also handle appeals cases.






References:
Merrill, T., Miro, R., (1996, September). A country study. Retrieved from
http://countrystudies.us/mexico/
Suprema Corte de Justicia, M. (2011, October 10). Art. 41 constitucin poltica de los estados
unidos mexicanos. Retrieved from http://constitucion.gob.mx/index.php?art_id=41
Honorable Congreso De la Unin, M. (2011, September 13). Composicin de Grupos
parlamentarios. Retrieved from
http://www3.diputados.gob.mx/camara/001_diputados/005_grupos_parlamentarios