Every individual in the United Mexican States shall enjoy the guarantees granted by this Constitution, which cannot be restricted or suspended except in such cases and under such conditions as herein provided.
© Oxford University Press, Inc.
Translated by Rainer Grote
Every individual in the United Mexican States shall enjoy the guarantees granted by this Constitution, which cannot be restricted or suspended except in such cases and under such conditions as herein provided.
Slavery is forbidden in the United Mexican States. Slaves who enter the national territory from abroad shall, by this act alone, obtain their freedom and enjoy the protection afforded by the laws.
All discrimination motivated by ethnic or national origin, gender, age, handicaps, social condition, health, religion, opinions, preferences, marital status, or any other discrimination that violates human dignity and has the objective of restricting or diminishing the rights and liberties of persons is prohibited.
The Mexican Nation is one (única) and indivisible.
The Nation has a multicultural composition which has its roots in its indigenous peoples, comprising those who have descended from the people who inhabited the present territory of the country at the beginning of the colonization and who have preserved at least partially their own social, economic, cultural, and political institutions.
The awareness of their indigenous identity shall be an essential criterion in determining to whom the provisions on indigenous peoples apply.
Communities of indigenous people are those which constitute a social, economic, and cultural unit, are situated in a territory, and have their own authorities in accordance with their traditions and customs.
The right of indigenous peoples to self-determination shall be exercised within a constitutional framework of autonomy that ensures national unity. The indigenous peoples and communities shall be recognized in the constitutions and laws of the federal entities, which shall take into consideration, in addition to the general principles established in the previous paragraphs of this article, ethno-linguistic criteria and physical location.
The constitutions and laws of the federal entities shall recognize and regulate these rights in the municipalities with the objective of strengthening participation and political representation in a manner consistent with their traditions and internal rules.
The constitutions and laws of the federal entities shall establish the characteristic elements of self-determination and autonomy which best correspond to the circumstances and aspirations of the indigenous people in each entity, as well as the rules on the recognition of the indigenous communities as entities of public interest.
In order to address the hardship and lack of development that affect the indigenous peoples and communities, these authorities have the obligation to:
In order to guarantee the fulfillment of the obligations established in this paragraph, the Chamber of Deputies of the Congress of the Union, the legislatures of the federal entities, and the municipal councils shall include, in the ambit of their respective competences, the funding allocations specifically earmarked for the fulfillment of these obligations in their approved spending budgets, as well as the methods and procedures available for [indigenous] communities to participate in their implementation and control.
Without prejudice to the rights established herein in favor of the indigenous people, their communities and their towns, all communities which are comparable to them shall have the same rights, as established by the law.
Every individual has the right to receive an education. The State--the Federation, the States, the Federal District and the municipalities--shall provide pre-school, primary, and secondary education. Pre-school, primary and secondary education constitutes the basic compulsory education.
The education imparted by the State shall be designed to harmoniously develop all the faculties of the human being and shall foster in him, at the same time, the love of the fatherland and a consciousness of international solidarity in independence and justice.
Moreover:
A man and a woman are equal before the law. The organization and the development of the family will be protected by law.
Every person has the right to decide, in a free, responsible, and informed manner, the number and spacing of his or her children.
Every person has the right to health protection. The law will describe the basis and means for access to health care services and will establish the concurrence of the Federation and the federal entities in matters of public health, in a manner consistent with the provisions of Article 73, section XVI of this Constitution.
Every person has the right to live in an environment that is adequate for his or her development and well-being.
Every family has the right to dignified and decent housing. The instruments and assistance necessary to achieve this objective will be established by law.
Boys and girls have the right to satisfy their nutrition, health and education needs and to healthy recreation for their total development.
Ancestors, tutors and guardians have the duty to safeguard these rights. The State will make available all that is necessary to promote respect for the dignity of all children and the full exercise of their rights.
The State will provide facilities to assist individuals in the fulfillment of the rights of children.
No person may be prevented from engaging in the profession, industrial or commercial pursuit, or occupation of his or her choice, so long as it is lawful. The exercise of this liberty may only be forbidden by a judicial determination when the rights of a third party are infringed or by a government resolution, issued in the manner provided by law, when the rights of society are undermined. No one may be deprived of the fruits of his or her labor except by judicial resolution.
The law in each state shall determine the professions that may be practiced only with a degree or license and set forth the requirements for obtaining such license and the authorities empowered to regulate them.
No one can be compelled to render personal services without due remuneration and without his or her full consent, the exception being labor imposed as a penalty by a judicial authority, which shall be governed by the provisions of sections I and II of Article 123.
Only the following public services shall be obligatory, subject to the conditions set forth in the respective laws: military and jury duty, as well as the discharging of the office of municipal councilman and offices of direct or indirect popular election. Duties related to elections and the census shall be compulsory and unpaid, but those performed professionally consistent with the terms of this Constitution and relevant laws will be compensated. Professional services of a social character or public nature shall be compulsory and paid according to the provisions of law and with the exceptions established thereby.
The State cannot permit the execution of any contract, covenant or agreement having as its object the restriction, loss or irrevocable sacrifice of personal liberty for any reason.
Likewise, no agreements can be recognized in which persons agree to their own proscription or exile, or in which they renounce, temporarily or permanently, the exercise of a given profession, trade, or commerce.
A labor contract shall be binding only to render the services agreed on for the time specified by law and may never exceed one year to the detriment of the worker, and in no case may it include the waiver, loss, or restriction of any civil or political rights.
Breach of such contract by the worker shall only render him civilly liable for damages, but in no case shall it imply coercion against his or her person.
The expression of ideas shall not be subject to any judicial or administrative investigation unless such expression offends good morals, infringes upon the rights of others, incites crime, or disturbs the public order; the right to a reply shall be exercised subjects to the terms established by law. Freedom of information shall be guaranteed by the State.
With regard to the exercise of the right of access to information, the Federation, the State, and the Federal District shall act, within their respective competences, in accordance with the following principles and basic tenets:
The freedom to write and publish writings on any subject is inviolable. No law or authority may establish prior censorship, require bonds from authors or printers, or restrict the freedom of printing, which shall be limited only by the respect due to private life, morals, and public peace. Under no circumstances may a printing press be seized as the instrument of a crime.
The organic laws shall contain whatever provisions are necessary to prevent the imprisonment of vendors, "newsboys," operators, and other employees of the establishment publishing the work denounced, under pretext of denunciation of offenses of the press, unless their guilt is previously established.
Public officials and employees shall respect the exercise of the right of petitioning provided it is made in writing and in a peaceful and respectful manner. However, this right may only be exercised in political matters by citizens of the Republic.
Every petition must be replied to in writing by the official to whom it is addressed and who has the obligation to inform the petitioner of the decision taken within a brief period of time.
The right to assemble or associate peacefully for any lawful purpose shall not be restricted; but only citizens of the Republic may do so to take part in the political affairs of the country. No armed deliberative meeting or gathering is authorized.
No assembly or meeting which has as its object the petitioning of any authority or the presentation of a protest against any act shall be deemed unlawful; nor may it be dissolved, unless insults are proffered against the authority or violence is resorted to, or threats are made to intimidate or compel such authority to render the desired decision.
The inhabitants of the United Mexican States have the right to possess arms in their residences for their protection and legitimate defense, except such as are expressly forbidden by law or which have been reserved for the exclusive use of the Army, Navy, Air Force and National Guard. Federal law will determine the circumstances, conditions, requirements, and places in which the bearing of arms by inhabitants will be authorized.
Every person has the right to enter and leave the Republic, to travel through its territory, and to change his [or her] residence without the necessity of a letter of security, passport, safe conduct pass, or any other similar requirement. The exercise of this right shall be subordinated to the powers of the judiciary in cases of civil or criminal liability and to those of the administrative authorities insofar as concerns the limitations imposed by the laws regarding emigration, immigration, and public health of the country, or in regard to undesirable aliens resident in the country.
No titles of nobility, prerogatives or hereditary honors will be conferred in the United Mexican States, nor shall any recognition be given to those granted by other countries.
No one may be tried under laws designed only to apply to the case at hand (leyes privativas) or before special courts. No person or corporation can have privileges or enjoy emoluments other than those given in compensation for public services and which are set forth by law. Military jurisdiction is recognized for the trial of crimes against the violation of military discipline, but the military tribunals can in no case have jurisdiction over persons who do not belong to the armed forces. Whenever a civilian is implicated in a military crime or violation, the corresponding civil authority shall have jurisdiction over the case.
No law shall be given retroactive effect to the detriment of any person whatsoever.
No one may be deprived of liberty or his/her property, possessions or rights, except by means of a judicial proceeding before a duly created court in which the essential procedural formalities are observed and in accordance with the laws enacted prior to the act in question.
No penalty may be imposed in criminal cases by mere analogy or even by preponderance of the evidence unless such penalty is pronounced in the law and is in every respect applicable to the crime in question.
The final judgment in civil cases must conform to the letter or the judicial interpretation of the law, and, in the absence of the latter, such judgment shall be based on the general principles of law.
No treaty shall be authorized for the extradition of political offenders or of delinquents of the common order who have been slaves in the country where the offense was committed; nor shall any agreement or treaty be entered into which restricts or modifies the guarantees and rights established in this Constitution for man and citizen.
No one may be disturbed in his [or her] person, family, domicile, papers, or possessions, except by virtue of a written order by a competent authority stating the legal grounds and justification for the action taken.
No order of arrest or detention may be issued against any person other than by the competent judicial authority and unless it is preceded by a charge, accusation, or complaint for a specific action determined by the law to constitute a crime for which the accused may be punished by imprisonment and there is evidence to support both the punishment and the probable guilt of the accused.
The authority that carries out a judicial order of apprehension must take the accused before a judge without delay and under the strictest responsibility. Failure to do so is punishable under criminal law.
In cases of flagrante delicto, any person may detain the offender, turning him over without delay to the nearest authority, and from there, as expeditiously as possible, to the Public Ministry.
Only in urgent cases, when the offense constitutes a serious crime under the law and where there is well-founded risk that the accused may evade the action of justice and the accused cannot be brought before a judicial authority because of the time, place or circumstance, does the Public Ministry have the authority, on its strictest accountability, to order the accused person's detention founded on a thorough description of the evidence that motivated its decision.
In cases of urgency or flagrancy, the judge who receives the detained must immediately approve the detention or order liberty under the reservations of law.
No accused [person] may be detained by the Public Ministry for more than forty-eight (48) hours; within such period of time, the accused must either be set free or placed at the disposition of the judicial authority. This term may be doubled in those instances that are classified as organized crime under the law. All abuses of aforementioned provision will be subject to punishment under the criminal law.
Every search warrant, which can be issued only by a competent judicial authority and which must be in writing, shall specify the place to be searched, the person or persons to be detained, and the objects sought, and the proceedings shall be limited thereto. At the conclusion of the search warrant, a detailed statement shall be drawn up in the presence of two witnesses designated by the occupant of the place searched or, in his or her absence or refusal, by the official making the search.
Private communications are inviolable. The law shall criminally sanction any act that threatens the liberty and privacy of thereof. Only the federal judicial authority, upon petition by the federal official empowered by the law or the head of the Public Ministry of the corresponding federative entity, may authorize the interception of any private communication. To that effect, the proper authority must first establish and justify in writing the legal causes motivating the request and also indicate the type of interception, its subjects, and its duration. The federal judicial authority cannot authorize these interceptions when the communications involve electoral, fiscal, trade, civil, labor, or administrative matters, or in the case of private communications between a detained person and defender.
Authorized interceptions must conform to the requirements and limits specified in the laws. The product of any interceptions that do not comply with these requirements will lack all evidentiary value.
Administrative officials may enter private homes for the sole purpose of ascertaining whether the sanitary and police regulations have been complied with; and may demand to be shown the books and documents required to prove compliance with fiscal regulations, in which latter cases they must abide by the provisions of the respective laws and be subject to the formalities prescribed for searches.
Sealed correspondence sent through the mail is exempt from search, and any violation of this shall be punishable under the law.
No member of the armed forces may, in time of peace, be quartered in private dwellings without the consent of the owner, nor may he impose any obligation whatsoever. In times of war, the military may demand lodging, supplies, and other assistance, consistent with the terms established by the corresponding martial law.
No person may take the law into his or her own hands or resort to violence in the enforcement of his [or her] rights.
Every person has the right to have quick, complete and impartial justice by courts, which shall be open for the administration of justice at such times and under such conditions as established by law. The courts' services shall be gratuitous and all judicial costs are, therefore, prohibited.
Federal and local laws shall establish the methods necessary to guarantee the independence of the courts and the full execution of their decisions.
No one may be imprisoned for debts of a purely civil nature.
Preventive detention is permissible only for crimes punishable by imprisonment. The place of such detention shall be distinct and completely separate from the place used for the serving of sentences.
The federal and state governments shall organize the penal system within their respective jurisdictions on the basis of labor, training, and education as means of social readjustment of the offender. Women shall serve their sentences in places separate from those designated for men for the same purpose.
State governors may, subject to the provisions of their respective local laws, conclude agreements of a general nature with the federal government, under which offenders convicted for common crimes may serve their sentences in establishments maintained by the Federal Executive.
The Federation, the States and the Federal District shall establish; within their respective powers, an integrated system of justice which shall apply to those who are at least twelve and less than eighteen years old and have shown a conduct which the penal laws qualify as crime, a system which shall guarantee the fundamental rights of the individual recognized by this Constitution, as well as those special rights which they enjoy in their capacity of individuals still in the process of development. Persons of less than twelve years of age who have shown a conduct qualified as crime by the law shall only be subject to rehabilitation and social assistance.
The operation of the system in each province of government shall be the responsibility of institutions, courts and authorities specialized in the administration of justice for juveniles. The orientation, protection and other measures required by the specific case may be applied while taking into account the integral protection and the superior interest of the juvenile delinquent.
Alternative forms of justice must be given due consideration in the application of this system, insofar as they appear appropriate. In all proceedings brought against juvenile delinquents the guarantee of a fair trial shall be observed, as well as the principle of separation of the authorities competent to cancel the sanctions from those imposing them. They must be proportional to the conduct adopted and pursue the objective of social and family reintegration of the juvenile delinquent, as well as the full development of his/her personality and skills. The internment may only be used as ultimate sanction and for the shortest possible period, and may only be applied to juvenile delinquents of more than fourteen years of age for the adoption of antisocial behaviour which is qualified as grave.
Prisoners of Mexican nationality who are serving sentences in foreign countries may be transferred to the Republic to complete their sentences subject to the system of social readjustment previously described in this article, and prisoners of foreign nationality sentenced for federal crimes committed in the Republic or for common law offenses in the Federal District, may be transferred to their country of origin or residence, subject to the international treaties that may have been concluded to this effect. The governors of the States may solicit from the Federal Executive, consistent with their respective state laws, the inclusion of prisoners of the common order in these treaties. The transfer of prisoners may only be carried out with their express consent.
Prisoners, in the cases and under the conditions established by law, shall be allowed to serve their sentences in the penitentiary institutions located closest to their domicile so as to promote their reintegration to the community and their social readjustment.
No detention before a judicial authority may exceed the term of seventy-two (72) hours without a formal order of commitment, which shall state the crime for which the accused is charged; the place, time, and circumstances of its commission; and the facts resulting from the preliminary investigations, which must be sufficient to establish the corpus delicti and the probable guilt of the accused.
This period may be extended only at the petition of the accused, and as provided by law. Prolonging the detention otherwise will be punishable under criminal law.
The official responsible for the institution where the accused is detained, who does not receive an authorized copy of the formal order of commitment or of the written request to prolong it, must give notice of such occurrence to the judge who has jurisdiction in the case, and if [the official] does not receive the aforementioned documentation within the following three hours of the notification, [the official] shall free the accused.
The trial shall take place only for the crime or crimes set forth in the formal order of commitment. If it develops during the course of the proceedings that another crime, different from that originally charged, has been committed, a separate investigation must be conducted. This, however, shall not prevent the joinder of both proceedings if deemed advisable.
Any mistreatment during the time of arrest or confinement, any molestation lacking legal justification, and any duties or contributions levied in prison constitute abuses which shall be punishable by law and repressed by the authorities.
In every criminal trial, the accused, victim or the offended shall enjoy the following guarantees:
The amount and form of bail shall be attainable by the accused. The judicial authority may modify the amount of bail in certain circumstances determined by law. In order to determine the form and the amount of bail, the judge must take into consideration the nature, means, and circumstances of the crime, the characteristics of the accused, and the probability that the accused will comply with his or her procedural obligations, the damages and injuries caused to the victim, as well as the financial penalty which may be imposed to the accused.
The serious cases for which the judge may deny bail shall be determined by law.
Nor shall detention be extended beyond the time established by law as the maximum for the crime charged.
The period of detention shall be deemed as part of the term of imprisonment imposed by sentence.
The aforementioned guarantees in sections I, V, VII, and IX shall also be observed during the initial investigation, consistent with the terms and the requirements and limits established by law; the provisions of section II will not be subject to any condition.
When the Public Ministry is of the opinion that such relief of formalities is not necessary, it must substantiate and justify the reasoning behind its decision.
The law will establish an efficient procedure to enforce all rulings regarding the compensation of damages.
The imposition of criminal penalties is an exclusive attribute of the judicial authority. The investigation and prosecution of crimes pertains to the Public Ministry and the judicial police which shall be under its immediate authority and command. The punishment of violations of governmental and police regulations, which shall be limited to a fine or arrest for a period not thirty-six hours, falls within the jurisdiction of the administrative authorities. If the offender fails to pay the fine imposed, it shall be commuted into the corresponding period of arrest, which shall in no case exceed thirty-six (36) hours.
If the offender is a day laborer or salaried worker, the punishment or fine may not exceed the amount of his or her daily wages.
The fine for non-salaried workers shall not exceed the equivalent of their daily income.
Any decisions by the Public Ministry not to initiate or to terminate criminal investigations may be challenged in the appropriate jurisdiction in accordance with the terms established by law.
The Federal Executive may, with the approval of the Senate in each case, recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
Public security is a task incumbent on the Federation, the Federal District, the States, and the Municipalities, within their respective powers determined by this Constitution. The activities of police institutions shall be governed by the principles of legality, efficiency, professionalism, and integrity.
The Federation, the Federal District, the States, and the municipalities shall coordinate their activities in the terms defined by the law in order to establish a national public security system.
Punishment by death, mutilation, infamy, branding, flogging, beating with sticks, torture of any kind, excessive fines, confiscation of property, and any other unusual or extreme penalties are prohibited.
Confiscation proceedings covering the whole or part of the property of a person by a judicial authority to cover payment of civil liability arising from the commission of a crime or for payment of taxes or fines shall not be considered a confiscation of property. Furthermore, a seizure, ordered by a judicial authority, of property acquired illegally as defined in Article 109, or the forfeiture of goods belonging to a person convicted of felonies classified as organized crime or goods which are depicted to be owned by the person sentenced, shall also not be deemed a confiscation of property unless the legitimate origin of these goods can be proven.
The allocation of seized goods in favor of the State will not be considered a confiscation of property if the goods have been abandoned under the terms of the applicable provisions. Goods confiscated as a result of an investigation or process and which were acquired through organized crime may be assigned to the State by the judicial authority at the termination of an investigation or process without the need for a specific pronouncement regarding the goods. The judicial decree (resolución) will always precede a hearing with the third parties involved in the case where it shall be fully established that the goods in question were acquired as a result of a felony classified by the law as organized crime, so long as it can be determined that the goods were the property or were in the possession of the accused. The process of confiscation will proceed independently of whether the goods had been transferred to third parties, unless the third parties can prove that they acquired the goods in good faith.
No criminal trial shall have more than three instances. No one, whether acquitted or convicted, can be tried twice for the same crime. The practice of absolving from the instance is prohibited.
Everyone is free to embrace the religion of his [or her] choice and to practice all ceremonies, devotions or observances of his or her respective faith, provided they do not constitute a crime or offense punishable by law.
Congress shall not enact any laws that either establish or forbid any religion.
Religious acts of public worship are ordinarily performed in temples or places of worship. Those that are exceptionally performed outside of them shall be subject to the applicable regulations and law.
The State is responsible for the direction of the national development and ensuring that it is absolute and sustainable, that it will strengthen the sovereignty of the Nation and its democratic system, and that, through the promotion of economic growth and employment and a more just distribution of income and wealth, the full exercise of liberty and dignity of all individuals, groups, and social classes, whose security is protected by this Constitution, is achieved.
The State will plan, conduct, coordinate, and adjust all national economic activity and will advance the regulation and promotion of activities that the general interest demands within the framework of liberties granted by this Constitution.
The public, social, and private sectors will carry out their social responsibility by contributing their share to the national economic development without impairing other forms of economic activity that may contribute to the development of the Nation.
The public sector will have exclusive responsibility over the strategic areas indicated in Article 28, paragraph four of the Constitution. The Federal Government shall always maintain the ownership and control over any organizations that are established for this purpose.
Also, the public sector has the power to participate, on its own or in concert with the social and private sectors, in efforts to stimulate and organize priority areas of development, so long as it is in harmony with the law.
Economic enterprises of the social and private sectors will be supported and encouraged under criteria of social equality and productivity, subject to the methods dictated by the public interest and the use, to the general benefit of all productive resources ensuring both their conservation and the environment.
The law shall establish procedures to facilitate the organization and expansion of the economic activity of the social sector: of the communes, labor organizations, cooperatives, communities, ventures that are owned principally or exclusively by workers, and, in general, of all types of social organization for the production, distribution, and consumption of socially necessary goods and services.
The law will encourage and protect economic activities performed by individuals and will detail the conditions for the involvement and contribution of the private sector to the national economic development, consistent with the terms established by this Constitution.
The objectives of the national project contained in this Constitution shall determine the objectives of such planning. The planning process shall be democratic. Through the participation of the different social sectors it shall identify the aspirations and demands of the society and incorporate them into the plan and development programs. A national development plan shall be created to which the programs of the Federal Public Administration shall be subordinated.
The law shall authorize the Executive to establish the procedures for participation and popular consultation in the democratic system of national planning and the criteria for the formulation, implementation, control and evaluation of the plan and development programs. It shall also determine the entities responsible for the planning process and the basis on which the Federal Executive shall coordinate through covenants with the governments of the federal entities and arrange with individuals the action necessary for the plan's development and execution.
The Congress of the Union shall intervene in the democratic planning system as provided by law.
The responsibility to regulate and coordinate the aforementioned system shall lie with a body which shall have functional and managerial autonomy, legal personality and its own assets, with the necessary faculties to regulate the collection, processing and publication of the information which is generated and to make sure that it is duly taken into account.
The organization shall have a Management Board composed of five members, one of whom shall act as President of the Board and the organization; they shall be appointed by the President of the Republic with the consent of the Senate, or by the Permanent Commission of the Congress during its recess.
The law shall establish the bases for the organization and the operation of the National System of Statistical and Geographical Information in accordance with the principles of accessibility of information, transparency, objectivity, and independence; as well as the requirements which have to be met by the members of the Management Board, the length and respective beginnings of their terms of office.
The members of the Management Board may only be removed from office for serious cause and may not hold any other employment, office or commission, with the exception of non-salaried occupations in teaching institutions or those of a scientific, cultural, or charitable character; they shall be subject to the provisions of Title IV of this Constitution.
Ownership of the lands and waters within the boundaries of the national territory is vested originally in the Nation, which has had, and continues to have, the right to transmit title thereof to private persons, thereby constituting private property.
Private property shall not be expropriated except for reasons of public use and subject to payment of indemnity.
The Nation shall at all times have the right to impose on private property such limitations as the public interest may demand, as well as the right to regulate the utilization of natural resources which are susceptible of appropriation, in order to ensure a more equitable distribution of public wealth, look after their conservation, achieve a more balanced development of the country and improvement of life for the rural and urban populations. Consequently, necessary measures shall be taken to organize human settlements and establish adequate provisions, uses, reserves, and end uses of lands, waters, and forests with the purpose of carrying out public works and planning and regulating their construction, conservation, improvement, and growth of centers of population; to preserve and restore ecological balance; to divide up large estates; to manage, consistent with the terms of the applicable regulations and law, the organization and collective functioning of common public lands and communities; to secure the development of small rural property; to encourage agriculture, ranching, forestry, and of the various economic activities in the rural setting, and to prevent the destruction of natural resources, and to protect property from damage to the detriment of society.
The Nation has direct ownership of all natural resources of the continental shelf and the submarine shelf of the islands; all minerals or substances that are in veins, layers, or masses; beds of ore that constitute deposits naturally distinct from the components of the earth itself, such as the minerals from which industrial metals and metalloids are derived; deposits of precious stones; rock salt, and the salt deposits formed by sea water; products derived from the decomposition of rocks when subterranean works are required for their extraction; mineral or organic deposits of materials susceptible of utilization as fertilizers; solid mineral fuels; petroleum and all solid, liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons; and the space above the national territory, to the extent and within the terms established by international law.
The waters of the territorial seas are the property of the Nation, within the limits and terms specified (que fije) by international law; inland marine waters; those of lagoons and estuaries permanently or intermittently connected with the sea; those of naturally-formed inland lakes which are directly connected with streams having a constant flow; those of rivers and their direct or indirect tributaries from the point in their source where their first permanent, intermittent or torrential waters begin to their mouth in the sea or a lake, lagoon, or estuary that are national property; those of constant or intermittently-running streams and creeks and their direct or indirect tributaries whenever the bed of the stream, throughout the whole or a part of its length, serves as a boundary of the national territory or between two federal entities, or if it flows from one federative entity to another or crosses the boundary line of the Republic; those of lakes, lagoons, or estuaries whose basins, zones, or shores are crossed by the boundary lines of two or more divisions or by the boundary line of the Republic and a neighboring country or when the shoreline serves as the boundary between two federal entities or of the Republic and a neighboring country; those of springs that originate from beaches, maritime zones, the beds, basins, or shores of lakes, lagoons, or estuaries in the national domain; and waters that are extracted from mines, and the channels, beds, or shores of inland lakes to the extent established by law. Underground waters may be brought to the surface by artificial works and utilized by the owner of the land, but if the public interest so requires or use by others is affected, the Federal Executive has the power to regulate its extraction and utilization and even to establish zones where underground water extraction is prohibited as may be done with all the other waters in the public domain. Any other waters not included in the foregoing list shall be considered an integral part of the property through which they flow on or in which they are deposited, unless they are located in two or more properties, in which case their utilization shall be deemed a matter of public use and shall be subject to the laws enacted by the States.
In the cases referred to in the preceding two paragraphs, ownership by the Nation is inalienable and imprescriptible, and the exploitation, use, or appropriation of these resources, by private individuals or by companies organized according to Mexican laws, may not be undertaken except through concessions granted by the Federal Executive in accordance with the rules and conditions established by law. The legal rules relating to the working or exploitation of the minerals and substances referred to in the fourth paragraph shall govern the execution and verification of what is carried out or should be carried out after they go into effect, independent of the date of granting the concessions, and their non-observance will be grounds for the cancellation of the concession. The Federal Government has the power (facultad) to establish national reserves and to abolish them. The declarations pertaining thereto shall be made by the Executive in those cases and conditions prescribed by law. No concessions or contracts shall be granted for the extraction of petroleum or solid, liquid, or gaseous hydrocarbons, or for radioactive minerals, nor may those that have been granted continue, and the Nation shall carry out the exploitation of these products, consistent with the provisions established in the respective regulatory law. Furthermore, the Nation has the exclusive right to generate, conduct, transform, distribute, and supply electric power to be used for public service. No concessions for this purpose will be granted to private individuals, and the Nation will make use of the property and natural resources required to achieve these ends.
The Nation also enjoys the use of nuclear combustibles for the generation of nuclear energy and to regulate its application for other uses or purposes. The use of nuclear energy is permitted only for peaceful purposes.
The Nation exercises control over an exclusive economic zone situated outside the territorial seas and adjacent to them, consistent with the rights of sovereignty and the jurisdictions established by the laws of Congress. The exclusive economic zone shall extend two hundred (200) nautical miles from where the territorial seas start. In those instances where this extension produces conflict with the exclusive economic zones of other countries, the boundaries of the respective zones shall be determined, as necessary, through agreements with those countries.
The legal capacity to acquire ownership of lands and waters of the Nation shall be governed by the following provisions:
The State, in accordance with internal public interests and the principles of reciprocity and at the discretion of the Ministry of Foreign Relations, may authorize foreign States to acquire, at the permanent sites of the Federal Powers, private ownership of real property necessary for their direct services of their embassies or delegations.
In no case may companies of this type acquire lands dedicated to agriculture, ranching, or forestry activities in greater extension than the amount equivalent to twenty-five (25) times the limits established in section XV of this article. The regulatory law will determine the structure of capital and the minimum number of partners of these companies to ensure that the lands owned by the company do not exceed, in relation to each of its partners, the limits for small properties. In this case, all property of individual investors or partners consisting of rural lands will be counted for the effects of computation. Also, the law will provide the conditions for foreign participation in these companies.
The law will establish the means of registration and control necessary to implement this section.
The Federal and State laws, within their respective jurisdictions, shall determine the instances in which occupation of private property shall be considered to be of public utility, and, in accordance with such laws, the administrative authorities shall issue the respective declaration. The price established as compensation for the expropriated property shall be based on the assessed value recorded in the assessment or tax offices, whether this value has been declared by the owner or tacitly accepted by him by having paid taxes on that basis. The increased or decreased value of such private property due to improvements or depreciation, which occurred after such assessment, is the only portion of the value that shall be subject to expert judgment and judicial proceedings. This same procedure shall be followed in the case of property the value of which is not recorded in the tax offices.
The exercise of actions pertaining to the Nation by virtue of the provisions of this article shall be made effective by judicial procedure; but during these proceedings and by order of the proper courts, which must render a decision within a maximum of one month, the administrative authorities shall proceed without delay to occupy, administer, auction, or sell the lands and waters in question and all their appurtenances, and in no case may the acts of such authorities be set aside until a final decision has been rendered.
The law protects the integrity of the lands of indigenous groups.
The law, taking into consideration the respect for and strengthening of the community life of the agricultural corporations (ejidos) and communities shall safeguard the land for human settlement and regulate the usage of common lands, forests, and waters and the necessary measures to stimulate and elevate the standard of life of their inhabitants.
The law, while respecting the will of the owners of communal lands (ejidatarios) and the community members to adopt the conditions most suitable to them for the use of their productive resources, shall regulate the exercise of the rights of the peasant communities over the land and of each community member over his or her own tract of land. At the same time, it shall establish the procedures by which the peasant communities and their members may associate with each other, with the State, or with third parties, and cede the use of their lands, and, in the specific case of community members, convey their parcel rights among the individual members of the local community; at the same time, it shall establish the requisites and procedures by which the community assembly may grant its members ownership of their tracts of land or parcels. The right of preference established by law shall be respected in cases where parcels are transferred.
No member of a local community may own more than the equivalent of five percent (5%) of all communal lands of that community. In all cases, ownership of lands by individual community members must conform to the limits specified in section XV.
The general assembly is the supreme organ of the communal population center, with the organization and roles established by law. The commissioner of the communal lands and property, elected democratically according to the terms of the law, is the representative of the center and the person responsible for implementing the resolutions of the assembly.
The restitution of lands, forests, and waters to centers of population will take place consistent with the terms established by regulatory law.
The sole exception to the aforementioned nullification shall be the lands to which title has been granted in allotments made in conformity with the law of June 25, 1856, and held with proper title by persons in their own name for more than ten years, when their area does not exceed fifty hectares.
Small agricultural property is that which does not exceed one hundred (100) hectares per individual of irrigated or prime wetland or its equivalent in other classes of land.
For the purposes of equivalence, one hectare of irrigated land shall be computed as two hectares of seasonal land, as four of prime grazing land, and as eight of woods, mountainous land, or arid pasturage lands.
Also to be considered as small properties are land areas not exceeding one hundred fifty (150) hectares of land used to raise cotton if irrigated; and three hundred (300) when used for the cultivation of bananas, sugar cane, coffee, henequen, rubber, coconuts, wine grapes, olives, quinine, vanilla, cacao, agave, prickly pear (nopal) or fruit trees.
Small properties for raising livestock are lands not exceeding the area necessary to maintain up to five hundred (500) heads of large livestock or cattle or their equivalent in small livestock, as determined by law and in accordance with the grazing capacity of the lands.
Whenever, due to irrigation or drainage works or any other works executed by the owners or occupants of a small property, the quality of the land is improved, such property shall not be subject to agrarian appropriation even if, by virtue of the improvements made, the maximums indicated in this section are exceeded, provided that the requirements specified by law are met.
When within one small livestock raising property improvements are made to lands dedicated to agricultural uses, the area allocated for this purpose shall not exceed in any given case the limits referred to in the second and third paragraphs of this section pertaining to the quality that these lands had before such improvements.
The excess shall be divided and transferred by the owner within a year of receipt of the corresponding notification. If the excess has not been transferred before this term has elapsed, the sale shall be carried out by public auction. The right of preference established in the regulatory laws shall be respected.
Local laws shall organize the family patrimony, determining what property shall constitute it, on the basis that it shall be inalienable and not be subject to seizure or encumbrance of any kind.
All matters concerning the boundaries of communal and community lands, regardless of their origin, including pending or ongoing issues between two or more centers of population; as well as questions arising from the ownership of the land in communes and communities, shall be under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government. For that matter and for the administration of agrarian justice in general, the law will establish tribunals endowed with autonomy and plenary jurisdiction consisting of magistrates proposed by the Federal Executive and confirmed by the Chamber of Senators or, during its recess, by the Permanent Commission.
The law will establish an organ for procuring agrarian justice, and
In the United Mexican States there shall be no monopolies, monopolistic practices, [or] exemption from taxes as provided in the terms and conditions established by law. The same treatment will be afforded to the prohibitions covered under the guise of protection to the industry.
Consequently, the law shall severely punish and the authorities shall effectively prosecute every concentration or gathering in one or a few hands of articles of prime necessity for the purpose of obtaining an increase in prices; every act or proceeding which prevents or tends to prevent free competition in production, industry or commerce, or services to the public; every agreement or combination, in whatever manner it may be made, of producers, industrialists, merchants, and common carriers, or those engaged in any other service, to prevent competition among themselves and to compel consumers to pay exaggerated prices; and in general, whatever constitutes an exclusive or undue advantage in favor of one or more specified persons and to the prejudice of the public in general or of any social class.
The law shall establish the basis to determine the maximum prices of articles, objects, or products considered to be essential to the national economy or popular consumption, as well as the rules applicable to the organization and distribution of those articles, objects, or products in order to preclude unnecessary or excessive interventions that may trigger shortage of supplies or increased prices. The law shall protect the consumers and shall promote their organization and the safeguarding of their best interests.
The functions that the State exclusively exercises in the following strategic areas shall not constitute monopolies: postal delivery, telegraphs, and radio telegraphy; petroleum and other hydrocarbons; basic petrochemicals; radioactive minerals and the generation of nuclear energy; electric power, and activities expressly provided by the laws enacted by the Congress of the Union. Satellite communications and railroads are priority areas for national development consistent with the terms of Article 25 of this Constitution; in exercising its control over them, the State shall safeguard the security and sovereignty of the Nation and, when granting concessions or permits, shall maintain or establish its control (dominio) over the respective ways of communication in accordance with the laws on the matter.
The State shall have organs (organismos) and ventures (empresas) required for the effective management of the strategic areas in its charge and priority activities where, in accordance with the law, it participates by itself or jointly with the social and private sectors.
The State shall possess a Central Bank that shall be autonomous in the exercise of its functions and in its administration. Its highest priority shall be to procure the stability of the national currency's buying power, as a way of strengthening the State's control of the national development. No authority may order the Bank to grant financing.
The functions that the State exclusively exercises through the Central Bank in the strategic areas relating to the coinage of money and the issuance of paper money do not constitute monopolies. The Central Bank, in accordance with the terms established by law, and with the intervention corresponding to the competent authorities, shall regulate the rates of exchange as well as intermediary and other financial services, relying on the necessary authority conferred to it to introduce the regulation and provide for its observance. The direction of the Bank shall be carried out by persons appointed by the President of the Republic with the consent of the Chamber of Senators, or the Permanent Commission, as is the case; who will serve for periods of time and at intervals that promote the autonomous exercise of their functions; who may only be removed from their position for grave cause, and who may not hold any other employment, duty, or commission, with the exception of those in which they act in the Bank's representation and those of non-salaried positions in artistic, scientific, cultural, or charitable institutions. The persons in charge of directing the affairs of the Central Bank will be subject to political judgment in accordance with the provisions of Article 110 of this Constitution.
Associations of workers formed to protect their own interests do not constitute monopolies; nor do cooperative associations or societies of producers, which in defense of their interests or of the general interest sell directly in foreign markets the domestic or industrial products which are the main source of wealth in the region in which they are produced and which are not essential articles, provided that such associations are under the supervision and protection of the Federal or State Governments and that they were previously duly authorized for that purpose by the respective legislatures, in every case. The legislatures themselves or on proposal of the Executive may, when the public need so requires, revoke the authorizations granted for the formation of the associations in question.
Neither do the privileges that, for a specified period of time, are granted to authors and artists for the production of their works, nor those that, for the exclusive use of their inventions, may be granted to inventors and to those who improve a product constitute monopolies.
The State, subject to the laws, may in cases of general interest grant concession for the provision of public services, or the exploitation, use and development of goods in the domain of the Federation, except in the instances determined by laws. The laws will specify rules and conditions to ensure the efficiency of the provision of services and the social utilization of property and will prevent instances of concentration that are contrary to the public interest.
The governance of public services shall be in accord with the provisions of the Constitution and carried out only through the law.
Subsidies may be granted to essential activities when they are broad in scope and temporary in nature and do not substantially affect the finances of the Nation. The State shall oversee their application and evaluate their results.
In the event of an invasion, serious disturbance of the public peace, or any other event which may place society in great danger or conflict, only the President of the United Mexican States, with the consent of the Secretaries of State, the Attorney General of the Republic and with the approval of the Congress of the Union or, if in recess, the Permanent Commission, may suspend throughout the country or in a determined place the guarantees which could present an obstacle to the swift and effective redress of the situation; but he/she must do use this power only for a limited period, through general preventive measures and without limiting the suspension to a particular individual. If the suspension occurs while the Congress is in session, the latter shall grant such authorizations which it deems necessary to enable the Executive to deal with the situation, but if it takes place during the time of recess, the Congress shall be convened without delay in order to approve them.
Mexican nationality is acquired by birth or by naturalization.
The obligations of Mexicans are:
The law shall regulate the exercise of rights that the Mexican legislation grants to Mexicans who possess another nationality and shall establish rules to prevent conflicts of double nationality.
The exercise of the duties and functions which require, by virtue of the present Constitution, the quality of Mexican by birth is reserved to those who have this quality and do not acquire another nationality. This reservation will also be applicable to any cases designated to this effect in other laws enacted by the Congress of the Union.
No foreigner may serve in the Army, the police, or public security forces during times of peace. In order to be a member of the Army during times of peace or of the National Navy or the Air Force at any moment, or to discharge any office or commission in them, the quality of Mexican by birth is required.
The same quality is indispensable for captains, pilots, masters, engineers, mechanics, and in general, for all personnel who serve as crew on any vessel or aircraft that carries the Mexican flag or merchant insignia. It is also necessary to be a Mexican by birth to exercise the responsibilities of port captain and all the functions of an airport chief officer.
Mexicans shall have priority over foreigners under equal circumstances for all classes of concessions and for all government employments, posts or commissions for which the citizen status is not indispensable.
Foreigners are those who do not possess the qualifications set forth in Article 30. They are entitled to the guarantees granted by Chapter I, First Title, of this Constitution; but the Executive of the Union shall have the exclusive power to expel from the national territory, immediately and without necessity of previous legal proceedings, all foreigners whose stay it determines to be inconvenient.
Foreigners may not in any way participate in the political affairs of the country.
Men and women who, having the status of Mexicans, likewise meet the following requirements are citizens of the Republic:
The prerogatives of citizens are:
The obligations of citizens of the Republic are:
The permanent organization and operation of the National Register of Citizens and the issuing of the documentation that asserts Mexican citizenship are services of public interest, and as such they are the responsibility of the State and the citizens in accordance with the terms established by the law.
In the case of sections II through IV, the Congress of the Union shall determine in the respective implementing law the exceptions in which permits and licenses will deemed to have been granted once the term indicated by the law has elapsed, on the only condition that a request has been submitted by the interest person.
The rights and prerogatives of citizens are suspended:
The law shall specify those cases in which the rights of citizen may be lost or suspended and the manner of rehabilitation.
The national sovereignty resides essentially and originally in the people. All public power emanates from the people and is instituted for their benefit. The people have, at all times, the inalienable right to alter or modify the form of their government.
It is the will of the Mexican people to be constituted in a representative, democratic, federal Republic composed of free and sovereign States in all that concerns their internal affairs but united in a Federation established according to the principles of this fundamental law.
The people exercise their sovereignty through the organs of the Union in those cases within its competence and through those of the States in all that relates to their internal affairs, under the respective terms established by the present Federal Constitution and the individual constitutions of the States, which shall in no event contravene the stipulations of the Federal Pact.
The periodic renewal (renovación) of the Legislative and Executive Powers will take place through free, authentic, and periodic elections in conformity with the following basic principles:
The objective of the political parties is to promote the participation of people in the democratic life, contribute to the integration of national representation and, as organizations of citizens, make possible their access to the exercise of public power, in accordance with the programs, principles, and ideas that they postulate and by means of universal, free, secret, and direct suffrage. Only citizens may form political parties and affiliate freely and individually with them; by contrast, the intervention of labor organizations or organizations with a different social objective in the creation of political parties and any form of corporate association remains prohibited.
The electoral authorities may intervene in the internal affairs of political parties in the terms defined by law.
Public financing for political parties that maintain their registration after each election will consist of the amounts paid to sustain their ordinary activities, those needed to secure votes during the elections and those for specific purposes. It will be granted in accordance with the following principles and the provisions of the law:
The law shall set the criteria to determine limits for the political parties' expenditures in the internal candidate selection processes and in their electoral campaigns. The same law shall establish the maximum amount that their supporters may contribute, the total sum of which may in no party exceed ten percent of the spending limit set for the last presidential campaign; it shall also fix the procedures for the control and monitoring of the origin and use of all resources at their disposal and prescribe the sanctions which have to be imposed for non-compliance with these provisions.
In the same manner the law shall establish the procedure for the liquidation of the obligations of parties which lose their registration and the conditions in which their property and remaining assets are transferred to the Federation.
The political parties may never, by themselves or through third persons, purchase or reserve any time in radio or television.
No other natural or juridical person may, for its own benefit or that of third parties, purchase advertising time in radio or television for the purpose of influencing the electoral preferences of the citizens, neither for nor against political parties or candidates for elective office. The broadcasting of such advertisements which are purchased abroad remains prohibited in the national territory.
The provisions contained in the preceding paragraphs must be implemented within the jurisdiction of the States and of the Federal District in conformity with the applicable legislation.
When in the opinion of the Federal Electoral Institute the total time in radio and television to which this and the preceding section refer is insufficient for its own purposes or that of other electoral authorities, it shall take the necessary measures in order to make up for the lack of time, in using the faculties which it has been granted by the law.
During the time of federal and local election campaigns and until the end of the respective election day the dissemination of any government propaganda of the federal, state or municipal authorities, organs of government of the Federal District, of its delegations or any other public entity must be suspended. The only exceptions shall be the information campaigns of the electoral authorities, those concerning education and health services, and those necessary for the protection of the civilian population in case of an emergency.
The duration of the campaigns in the year in which the President of the Republic, the senators and the federal deputies are elected shall be ninety days; in the year in which only the federal deputies are elected, the campaigns shall last sixty days. In no case may the primaries take up more than two thirds of the time reserved for the election campaign.
The violation of these provisions by the parties or any other natural or juridical person shall be sanctioned in conformity with the law.
The Federal Electoral Institute shall be the authority in the [electoral] matter, independent in its decision-making and functioning and professional in the performance of its duties; its structure shall include directive, executive, technical and control organs. The General Council shall be its superior directive organ and shall be composed of a council president and eight electoral councilors, and additionally by council members from the Legislative Branch, representatives of the political parties, and an Executive Secretary who shall take part in the deliberations but not in the vote; the rules for the organization and operation of the council's organs as well as the chain of command amongst them shall be determined by law. The executive and technical organs shall have the qualified personnel necessary to offer professional electoral services. An Audit Office (Contraloría General) shall have the task of monitoring the revenue and the expenditure of the Institute, enjoying functional and managerial autonomy to this effect. The labor relations of the personnel working in this public organ shall be regulated by the provisions of the electoral law and by the Statute that the General Council enacts pursuant to it. The organs of control of the electoral register shall consist mostly of representatives of the national political parties. The directive boards (mesas directivas) in the polling places shall be composed of citizens.
The council president shall exercise his/her functions for six years and may be reelected only once. The electoral councilors exercise their functions for nine years; they are subject to partial renewal and may not be reelected. As the case may be, the president and the other members shall be elected successively by a vote of two-thirds of the members present in the Chamber of Deputies upon proposal of the parliamentary parties, following an extended consultation of society. In the case of an absolute incapacity of the council president or any of the electoral councilors, a replacement shall be elected in order to serve for the rest of the term. The law shall establish the corresponding rules and procedures.
The council president and the electoral councilors may not hold any other employment, duty, or commission, with the exception of those in which they act in the General Council's representation, and those of non-remunerated positions in educational, scientific, cultural, research, or charitable institutions. The pay of the council president and the electoral councilors shall be equal to the one afforded to the ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation.
The head of the Audit Office of the Institute shall be appointed by the Chamber of Deputies with the vote of two thirds of its members present upon proposal of the public institutions of higher education, in the form and the terms determined by law. He/she shall exercise his/her functions for six years and may be reelected only once. In administrative terms he/she shall be affiliated to the presidency of the General Council and shall maintain the necessary technical coordination with the Superior Financial Authority of the Federation.
The Executive Secretary shall be appointed by two-thirds of the General Council upon proposal by its president.
The law shall establish the requirements that the president of the General Council, the electoral councilors, the General Auditor and the Executive Secretary of the Federal Electoral Institute must satisfy for their appointment; persons which have discharged the functions of council president, electoral councilors and Executive Secretary may not assume functions in public bodies in whose election they have participated in the two years following their retirement.
The electoral councilors of the Legislative Branch shall be proposed by the parliamentary groups with party affiliation in either Chamber of the Congress. There shall only be one councilor for each parliamentary group regardless of his or her confirmation by both Chambers of the Congress of the Union.
The Federal Electoral Institute shall be responsible, in an absolute and direct form, and in addition to any other responsibilities determined by law, for the activities related to civic training and education, electoral geography, the rights and prerogatives of interest groups (agrupaciones) and political parties, voter registry and lists, the printing of electoral materials, the preparation for the election day, the counting of votes in accordance with the terms specified by law, the declaration of the validity of the election and the granting of election certificates of Deputies and Senators, the counting of votes in the election of the President of the United Mexican States in one-member electoral district, as well as the regulation of electoral monitoring and of opinion surveys or polls conducted for electoral purposes. The meetings of the directive organs of collective character (Órganos colegiados de dirección) shall be public in accordance with the terms established by the law.
The auditing of the finances of the national political parties shall be the responsibility of a technical organ of the General Council of the Federal Electoral Institute, which shall enjoy managerial autonomy and whose head shall be appointed by a two-thirds vote of the Council upon proposal of its President. The law shall regulate the composition and functioning of the said organ in detail, as well as the procedures for the application of sanctions by the General Council. In the fulfillment of its duties the technical organ shall not be limited the banking, property or fiscal secrets.
The technical organ shall be the instrument through which the authorities competent for the control of party finances in the federal entities may overcome the limitations to which the preceding paragraph refers.
The Federal Electoral Institute shall assume, through agreement with the competent authorities of the federal authorities which so request, the organization of the local electoral processes in the terms established by the applicable legislation.
In electoral matters, the lodging of constitutional or legal complaints shall not suspend the effects of the challenged decision or act.
The national territory comprises:
The integral parts of the Federation are the States of Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Coahuila, Colima, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatán, Zacatecas, and the Federal District.
México City is the Federal District, seat of the powers of the Union, and capital of the United Mexican States. It shall consist of its present territory, and in the event that the federal powers move to another location, it shall become the State of Valle de México with such boundaries and area as the General Congress shall assign to it.
The States of the Federation shall retain their current area and boundaries provided no difficulties arise concerning them.
The States may settle amongst themselves, through amicable agreements, their respective boundaries, but these arrangements shall not become effective without the approval of the Senate.
Failing an agreement, each party may submit the matter to the Senate, which shall act in accordance with Article 76, section XI, of this Constitution.
The decisions of the Senate in these matters shall be final and not subject to appeal. The Supreme Court of the Nation may adjudicate, within the context of a constitutional controversy submitted by the affected party, the conflicts which may result from the execution of the respective decree of the Senate.
The State of Nayarit shall have the territorial area and boundaries that currently comprise the territory of Tepic.
The islands, keys, and reefs of the adjacent seas which belong to the national territory, the continental shelf, the submarine shelf of the islands, keys, and reefs, inland marine waters, interior waterways, and the space located above the national territory shall depend directly on the Government of the Federation, with the exception of those islands over which the States have, up to the present, exercised their jurisdiction.
The supreme power of the Federation is divided for its exercise into Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.
Two or more of these powers can never be combined in one single person or body, nor shall the legislative power be vested in one individual except in case of extraordinary powers granted to the Executive of the Union in accordance with the provisions of Article 29. In no other instance, except as provided in the second paragraph of Article 131, may extraordinary powers to legislate be granted.
The Legislative Power of the United Mexican States is vested in a General Congress, which shall be divided into two Chambers, one of Deputies and the other of Senators.
The Chamber of Deputies shall be composed of representatives of the Nation, all of whom shall be elected every three years. For each titular (propietario) Deputy an alternate shall be elected.
The Chamber of Deputies shall consist of three hundred (300) Deputies elected according to the principle of a relative majority vote, through the system of individual electoral districts, and two hundred (200) Deputies, who will be elected in accordance with the principle of proportional representation and through the regional list system, voted from multiple electoral areas.
The territorial boundaries of the three hundred (300) single-member constituencies shall be determined by dividing the total population of the country amongst the aforementioned districts. The distribution of the single-member constituencies amongst the federal entities shall take into consideration the last general population census, except that in no case shall a State have fewer than two Deputies of the majority.
Five multi-member constituencies areas shall be established in the country for the election of the two hundred (200) Deputies in accordance with the principle of proportional representation and the regional list system. The form of establishing the territorial boundaries of these constituencies shall be determined by law.
The election of the two hundred (200) Deputies in accordance with the principle of proportional representation and the system of assignment through regional lists shall be subject to the following requirements (bases) and the provisions of the law:
The following is required to be a Deputy:
In order to qualify to be listed on the lists of the multiple electoral areas as a candidate for Deputy, the candidate must be a native of one of the federal entities in the district where the election is being held or a resident thereof with effective residence for more than six months prior to the date the election is held.
The status of resident is not lost by absence in the discharge of elective public office.
Not to be a member of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, or a magistrate, or Secretary of the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Power of the Federation, or Presiding Councilor or Electoral Councilor in the general, local or district councils of the Federal Electoral Institute, or Executive Secretary, Executive Director or a member of the professional leadership personnel of the Institute, unless he/she has definitely abandoned the position three years prior to the election date.
The governors of the States and the head of government of the Federal District may not be elected in the constituent entities of their respective jurisdictions during their term of office even if they have definitely resigned their position.
The secretaries of state of the States and the Federal District, magistrates and judges of the Federation, the States or the Federal District, as well as the Presidents of the municipalities and officials of any political-administrative organ in the case of the Federal District may not be elected in the constituent entities of their respective jurisdictions unless they definitely resign their position ninety days prior to the election.
The Chamber of Senators shall consist of one hundred twenty-eight (128) Senators, with two members elected according to the principle of relative majority vote in each State and the Federal District, and one assigned to the first minority. To that effect, political parties must register a list with two sets of candidates. The post of the Senator of the first minority shall be allocated to the candidate heading the list of the political party that, by itself, obtained the second largest number of votes in the pertinent entity.
The remaining thirty-two (32) Senators will be elected in accordance with the principle of proportional representation through a system of voting lists in a single national multiple district. The law shall establish rules and formulas to that effect.
The Chamber of Senators shall be totally renewed every six years.
For each titular (propietario) Senator one alternate shall be elected.
To become a Senator requires the same requirements for becoming a Deputy except that age shall be twenty-five (25) years of age attained by the date of the election.
Senators and Deputies to the Congress of the Union may not be re-elected for the immediately following term.
Alternate Senators and Deputies may be elected for the immediately following term as titular [Senators and Deputies] provided that they have not been called upon to serve as principals; but titular Senators and Deputies may not be elected for the immediately following term in the capacity of alternates.
The public organ provided for in Article 41 of this Constitution, in accordance with the terms of the law, shall declare the validity of the elections of Deputies and Senators in each individual electoral district and each of the federal entities, the candidates who have obtained a majority vote, and will assign Senators of the first minority in accordance with the provisions in Article 56 of this Constitution and the law. Likewise, it shall declare the validity and the assignment of Deputies according to the principle of proportional representation and in accordance with Article 54 of this Constitution and the law.
Decisions on the declaration of validity, granting of proof, and allocation of Deputies or Senators may be challenged before the regional courts of the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Power of the Federation under the terms specified by the law.
The decrees of the courts referred to in the last paragraph may be revised exclusively by the Superior Court of the same Tribunal through the means of challenge that political parties may pursue but only when the reported grievances can change the results of the election. The judgments of this Court shall be definitive and unchallengeable (inatacables). The law shall establish the requirements and procedures for this means of challenge.
Deputies and Senators are inviolable for opinions expressed by them in the discharge of their offices and shall never be called to account for them.
The president of each Chamber shall safeguard the respect for the constitutional privileges of their respective members and the inviolability of the site where they gather to session.
Titular Deputies and Senators during their terms of office may not hold any other commission or employment from the Federation or the States for which they receive compensation without the prior consent from their respective Chamber; but their representative functions shall thereupon cease, while they perform their new occupation. The same rule shall apply to alternate Deputies and Senators when serving as principals. The violation of this provision shall be punishable by loss of the status of Deputy or Senator.
The Chambers may not open their sessions nor discharge their duties without the attendance, in each of them, of more than half of the total number of their members; but those present in either [Chamber] must assemble on the day specified by law and compel the absent members to join them within the following thirty days, with the warning that if they do not do so, it shall be understood that, by that sole fact, they do not accept their office; their alternates shall be subsequently called and must present themselves within a like period; if they fail to do so, the seat shall be declared vacant. The vacancies in the seats of Deputies and Senators of the Congress of the Union which exist at the beginning of the legislature as well as those which occur during the legislative term shall be filled in the following manner: in the case of Deputies or Senators of the Congress of the Union who have been elected by simple majority, the respective Chamber shall call extraordinary elections in accordance with the provisions of Chapter IV of this Constitution; the vacancies of members of the Chamber of Deputies elected in accordance with the principle of proportional representation shall be filled the candidate and his/her alternate of the same party who are the next in line on the respective regional party list, after the seats corresponding to that list have been allocated; the vacancies of members of the Senate elected in accordance with the principle of proportional representation shall be filled by filled by the candidate and his/her alternate of the same party who are next in line on the national party list, after the seats corresponding to that list have been allocated; the vacancies of members of the Senate elected in accordance with the principle of best minority party (primera minoría) shall be filled by the candidate and his/her alternate of the same party which in the federal entity in question has obtained the second place on the respective list of parties.
It is also understood that Deputies or Senators who are absent for ten consecutive days without justifiable cause or previous permission from the president of their respective Chamber, of which the other members shall be informed, have vacated their seats for the respective term, which shall be filled immediately by their alternates.
If there is no quorum to install either Chamber or to exercise its functions once installed, the alternates shall be called immediately to present themselves within the shortest delay for discharge of their duties, while the period of thirty days referred to above is expiring.
Anyone who has been elected Deputy or Senator but does not present himself/herself for the discharge of his/her office within the time limit indicated in the first paragraph of this article, without justifiable cause as determined by the respective Chamber, shall be held responsible and be subject to the sanctions provided by law. National political parties that have nominated candidates in an election for Deputies or Senators and decide that its members which have been elected shall not present themselves to assume office will also be held responsible and be sanctioned under the same law.
Deputies and Senators who without justifiable cause or without the permission of their respective Chamber do not attend a session shall have no right to remuneration (dieta) for the day on which they were absent.
Starting on September 1 of each year, the Congress shall meet to hold its first ordinary session period, and starting on February 1 of each year to hold a second ordinary session period.
During both periods, the Congress shall devote itself to the study, discussion, and voting of the bills which are introduced and to the resolution of the other matters which fall within its sphere of competence under the terms of this Constitution.
In each period of ordinary sessions, the Congress shall deal as a matter of priority with the issues specified in its Organic Law.
Each period of ordinary sessions shall last for the time necessary to address all matters mentioned in the preceding article. The first period shall not last beyond the fifteenth (15th) of December of the same year, except when the President of the Republic initiates his duties (encargo) on the date specified by Article 83, in which case the sessions may be extended until the thirty-first (31st) of December of the same year. The second period shall not last beyond the thirtieth (30th) of April of the same year.
If the two Chambers are not in accord as to the termination of the sessions before the dates indicated, the President of the Republic shall resolve [the matter].
The Congress or either one of its Chambers, when a matter exclusive to it is concerned, shall meet in extraordinary sessions whenever the Permanent Commission shall convoke them for that purpose; but in both instances they shall occupy themselves only with the matter or matters which the said Commission submits to their attention, which shall be specifically stated in the respective call (convocatoria).
The two Chambers shall reside at the same location and may not move to another unless they previously agree to the move and on the time and manner of doing so, designating the same location for the meeting of both. However, if the two, while agreeing on the move, differ in specifics such as time, manner, and location, the Executive shall settle the difference by choosing one of the two extremes (extremos) in question. Neither Chamber may suspend its sessions for more than three days without the consent of the other.
The President of the Republic shall attend the opening of the ordinary sessions for the first period of the Congress and shall present a written report in which he shall indicate the general state of the administration of the country. At the opening of extraordinary sessions of the Congress or of one of its Chambers, the Chairman of the Permanent Commission shall report as to the motives or reasons that led to the convocation (convocatoria).
Every resolution of the Congress shall have the character of a law or of a decree. The laws or decrees shall be communicated to the Executive, signed by the presidents of both Chambers and by the secretary of each, and shall be promulgated (promulgarán) in this form: "The Congress of the United Mexican States decrees: (text of the law or decree)."
The Congress shall enact a law to regulate its internal structure and functioning.
The law shall establish the forms and procedures for the grouping (agrupación) of the Deputies in accordance with their party affiliation, with the objective of guaranteeing the free expression of the different ideological views represented in the Chamber of Deputies.
This law cannot be vetoed and does not require the Federal Executive's promulgation (promulgación) to come into force.
The right to initiate laws or decrees belongs to:
Initiatives presented by the President of the Republic, by the legislatures of the States, or by their commissions shall be referred at once to a committee. Those which are presented by Deputies or Senators shall be subject to the procedures designated in the Regulations on Debate.
Every bill (proyecto de ley) or proposed decree, the resolution of which does not pertain exclusively to one of the Chambers, shall be discussed successively in both, conforming to the Regulations on Debate as to the form, intervals of time, and manner of procedure in discussions and voting.
The voting on a law or decree shall be by roll call (nominales).
Neither may the Executive do so in regard to a decree of convocation of extraordinary sessions issued by the Permanent Commission.
The Congress has the power:
The federal authorities may also investigate common crimes when these are connected to federal crimes.
In matters of concurrent jurisdiction provided for in this Constitution, the federal laws shall establish the conditions in which the ordinary jurisdictional authorities may investigate and adjudicate federal crimes.
The federal entities shall share in the revenues from these special taxes in the proportion determined by secondary federal law. The local legislatures shall set the percentage corresponding to the Municipalities from revenues obtained from the tax on electric power.
The exclusive powers of the Chamber of Deputies are:
The Federal Executive shall submit to the Chamber of Deputies the proposed Law of Revenue and the Draft Budget of Expenditure of the Federation no later than September 8, with the competent Secretary presenting them. The Chamber of Deputies shall approve the Budget of the Expenditure of the Federation on November 15 at the latest.
When it assumes office on the date provided for in Article 83, the Federal Executive shall submit to the Chamber of Deputies the proposed Law of Revenue and the Draft Budget of Expenditure of the Federation no later than December 15.
There shall be no secret items in the budget other than those for which the secret character is considered to be of the essence and which are included by the Secretaries with the written approval of the President of the Republic.
The review of the Public Account shall have as its objective the scrutiny of the results of the financial management and the verification that the latter has been in conformity with the criteria established in the Budget and the realization of the objectives contained in the programs.
The review of the Public Account by the Chamber of Deputies shall be supported by the Federation's superior auditing entity. If discrepancies arise from such examination between the amounts collected or spent and the respective allocations, or if there is lack of accuracy or justification with regard to revenue collected or expenditure made, responsibility shall be determined in accordance with the law.
The Public Account of the previous year shall be presented to the Chamber of Deputies of the Congress within the first ten days of the month of June.
The period for presentation of the proposed Law of Revenue and the Draft Budget of Expenditures of the Federation, as well as of Public Account, shall only be extended when the Executive has provided sufficient reasons for such a request in the opinion of the Chamber or the Permanent Commission; in any case the competent Secretary must appear [before the Chamber or the Commission] in order to explain the reasons motivating the request.
To take cognizance of accusations against public officials for any crimes referred to by Article 110 of this Constitution, and to act as the accusing organ in any political judgments established against them.
The Chamber of Deputies, upon approving the Budget of Expenditures, shall not fail to set remuneration corresponding to an office that has been established by law; and in the event that, for any reason, it fails to set such remuneration, the amount set in the previous budget or in the law establishing the office or position shall be understood to remain in force.
The exclusive powers of the Senate are:
The law shall regulate the exercise of this and the preceding powers.
Each of the Chambers may, without the intervention of the other:
During the recess of the Congress of the Union, there shall be a Permanent Commission composed of thirty-seven (37) members, of whom nineteen (19) shall be Deputies and eighteen (18) Senators appointed by their respective Chambers on the eve of the closing of the period of ordinary sessions. For each titular member that the Chambers appoint there shall be an alternate.
The Permanent Commission, in addition to the attributes that this Constitution expressly confers upon it, shall have the following [powers]:
The Chamber of Deputies' superior financial authority of the Federation shall have functional and managerial autonomy in the exercise of its powers (atribuciones) and in determining its own internal organization, functioning, and resolutions in accordance with the terms provided by the law.
This superior financial authority of the Federation shall have the following responsibilities (cargo):
It shall also scrutinize federal resources handled by the federal entities, municipalities, and private individuals.
Without prejudice to the reports referred to in the first paragraph of this section and in exceptional situations as determined by law, specific budget allocations may be subject to review of those concepts that are considered relevant and a report to that effect may be required. If these requirements are not satisfied within the time periods and in ways provided by law, financing for the items may be limited to what has already been allocated for them.
The superior financial authority of the Federation shall remain silent with regard to its proceedings and observations until it issues the reports referred to in this article; sanctions applicable to those who violate this provision shall be established by law.
The Chamber of Deputies shall appoint the head of the financial authority by the vote of two thirds of its members present. The procedures for such designation shall be provided by law. The appointed official shall remain in office for eight years and may be appointed for only one additional term. He may be removed exclusively for serious causes provided by law following the same voting procedure as for his/her appointment, or for the causes and conforming to the procedures provided in the Article IV of this Constitution.
In order to become head of the superior financial authority of the Federation, it is required, besides the requisites established in sections I, II, IV, V, and VI of Article 95 of this Constitution, to comply with provisions of law. While exercising his duties, he/she may not be affiliated to any political party, or hold any other employment, duty, or commission with the exception of those of non-remunerated in scientific, educational, artistic, or charitable associations.
The Powers of the Union and those subject to the budget review shall provide any assistance that the superior financial authority of the Federation requires for the exercise of its functions.
The Federal Executive Power shall apply the administrative procedures for the execution of the indemnifications and pecuniary sanctions referred to in section IV of this article.
The exercise of the Supreme Executive Power of the Union is vested in a single individual who is entitled "President of the United Mexican States."
The election of the President shall be direct under the terms provided by the Electoral Law.
In order to be President it is required:
The President shall assume the duties of the office on the first of December for a term of six years. A citizen who has held the office of President of the Republic by virtue of a popular election, or as an interim, provisional, or substitute President can in no case and for no reason again hold that office.
In the event of an absolute disability (falta absoluta) of President of the Republic occurring during the first two years of the term, if the Congress is in session, it shall immediately constitute itself as an Electoral College, and if there is at least two-thirds of the total membership present, it shall appoint by secret ballot and by an absolute majority of the votes cast an interim President; the same Congress shall issue within ten days following the designation of the interim President a call for the election of a President to complete the respective term; between the date of the call and that designated for verification of the election, there must be an interval of not less than fourteen (14) months nor more than eighteen (18).
If the Congress is not in session, the Permanent Commission shall immediately appoint a provisional President and shall call the Congress to an extraordinary session so that it, in turn, may designate an interim President and issue the call for presidential elections as indicated in the preceding paragraph.
When the disability (falta) of the President occurs during the last four years of the term, if the Congress of the Union is in session, it shall designate a substitute President to complete the term; if the Congress is not in session, the Permanent Commission shall appoint a provisional President and shall convoke the Congress of the Union to an extraordinary session so that it may constitute itself into an Electoral College and elect a substitute President.
If at the beginning of a constitutional period the President-elect does not present himself or if the election has not been held or certified on the first of December, the President whose term has just concluded shall nevertheless still leave office, and the Executive Power shall be assumed without delay by the individual whom the Congress designates as Interim President or, or if the Congress is not in session, by the individual whom the Permanent Commission designates as provisional President; proceeding in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Article.
When the disability of the President is temporary, the Congress of the Union if in session or, if not, the Permanent Commission shall designate an interim President to discharge the presidential functions during the period of the disability.
When the disability of the President is for more than thirty days and the Congress of the Union is not in session, the Permanent Commission shall convoke an extraordinary session of the Congress so that it may decide upon the leave of absence and, as the case may be, appoint an acting President.
If the temporary disability becomes permanent, the procedure described in the preceding Article shall be observed.
The office of the President of the Republic can be resigned only for grave cause, which must be qualified by the Congress of the Union, before the resignation can be presented.
The President, upon taking possession of the office, shall appear before the Congress of the Union or, if in adjournment, before the Permanent Commission to take the following oath: "I promise to observe and enforce the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States and the laws enacted in pursuance thereof and to discharge loyally and patriotically the office of President of the Republic which the people have conferred upon me, always looking for the welfare and prosperity of the Union, and if I have not done so, may the Nation demand it from me."
The President of the Republic may not leave the national territory without the permission of the Congress of the Union or of the Permanent Commission, as the case may be.
The powers and duties of the President are the following:
The Federal Public Administration shall be centralized and public (paraestatal), in conformity with the Organic Law enacted by Congress which shall distribute the business of the administrative branch of the Federation among the various departments of State and the Administrative Departments and define the general foundations for the creation of public entities as well as the role of the Federal Executive in their operation.
The laws shall determine the relations between public entities and the Federal Executive or between them and the various departments of State.
In order to be a Secretary it is required: to be a Mexican citizen by birth, to be in the exercise of his [or her] rights, and be at least thirty (30) years of age.
All regulations, decrees, agreements, and orders of the President must be signed by the Secretary of State who is competent on the matter; without [the fulfillment of] this requirement they shall not be executed.
The Secretaries of State shall, as soon as the ordinary session period has started, report to Congress on the state of affairs in their respective departments.
Either of the Chambers may summon the Secretaries of State, the Attorney General of the Republic, as well as the directors and administrators of the decentralized federal bodies or the enterprises with majority state participation to provide information whenever a law is being debated or business matter relating to their respective departments or activities is being examined.
The Chambers, upon request of one-fourth of its members in the case of the Deputies or one-half in the case of the Senators, shall have the power to establish commissions to investigate the performance of the aforementioned decentralized bodies and enterprises with majority state participation. The results of these investigations shall be brought to the attention of the Federal Executive.
The exercise of the Judicial Power of the Federation is vested in a Supreme Court of Justice (Suprema Corte de Justicia), in an Electoral Tribunal (Tribunal Electoral), in Collegiate Circuit (Tribunales Colegiados) and Unitary Circuit Courts (Unitarios de Circuito), and in District Courts (Juzgados de Distrito).
The administration, vigilance, and discipline of the Judicial Power of the Federation, with the exception of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, shall be entrusted to the Council of the Federal Judiciary (Consejo de la Judicatura Federal), in accordance with the terms that, conforming to the principles that this Constitution specifies, are established by law.
The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation shall consist of eleven (11) ministers and shall function in plenary (en Pleno) or in Chambers (en Salas).
In accordance with the terms provided by law, sessions in plenary (en Pleno) or in Chambers (en Salas) shall be public with the exception of cases in which morals or the public interest require secrecy.
The competence (la competencia) of the Supreme Court, its functioning as a full court or in sessions, the competence of Circuit Courts, of District Courts, and the Electoral Tribunal as well as the responsibilities incurred by public servants of the Judicial Power of the Federation shall be governed by the provisions of law, in conformance with the principles established by the Constitution.
The Council of the Federal Judiciary shall determine the number, division into circuits, territorial competence and, as the case may be, the specialization by topic of the Collegiate and Unitary Circuit Courts, and the District Courts.
The Plenary of the Supreme Court of Justice, constituted as a full court, is empowered to issue general decisions, with the purpose of achieving an adequate distribution of the cases that come to its attention among its various sections. In order to expedite the proceedings, it shall remit to the Collegiate Circuit Courts those affairs in which precedent and jurisprudence has already been established, or those which the Court determines for the better administration of justice. These decisions shall take effect upon being published.
The law shall establish the terms under which the decisions by the courts of the Judicial Power of the Federation regarding the interpretation of the Constitution, federal or state laws and regulations, and international treaties concluded by the Mexican State shall have binding authority, as well as the conditions in which they may be overruled or modified.
The remuneration received for their services by the ministers of the Supreme Court, Circuit magistrates, District judges, and the members of the Council of the Federal Judiciary as well as the Electoral magistrates may not be reduced during their term in office.
The ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice shall remain in office for fifteen (15) years and may only be removed under the terms of the Fourth Title of this Constitution and, upon completion of their term, shall have the right to full retirement.
No person who has been a minister may be appointed for a new term unless he exercised the office as a provisional or interim minister.
To be elected minister of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, it is necessary:
The appointment of ministers shall be made preferably from those persons who have served with efficiency, competence, and honesty in the impartial delivery of justice or who have distinguished themselves for their honor, ability, and previous professional activity in the exercise of other judicial activities.
In order to appoint the ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice, the President of the Republic shall submit a short list of candidates for the consideration of the Senate, which, following the appearance of the proposed candidates, shall designate the minister to fill the vacancy. The designation shall be made by the vote of two-thirds of the members of the Senate present, and within the unextendable term of thirty (30) days. If the Senate does not reach a decision within this period, the office of minister will be occupied by the candidate from the list who is designated by the President of the Republic.
In cases where the Chamber of Senators rejects the entire proposed list, the President of the Republic shall submit a new one under the terms of the preceding paragraph. If this second list is also rejected, the office will be occupied by the candidate from this list whom the President of the Republic designates.
The Circuit magistrates and District judges shall be appointed by the Council of the Federal Judiciary based on objective criteria and in accordance with the requirements and procedures established by law. They will hold office for six years at the end of which, if they are reelected or promoted to a higher office, they may be removed from office only in the cases and in conformity with the procedures established by law.
The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation may also appoint one or more of its members, or a District judge or Circuit magistrate, or designate one or several special commissioners when deemed convenient or if the Federal Executive, or one of the Chambers of the Congress of the Union, or the governor of a state has so requested but only to investigate an act or acts which may constitute a serious violation of an individual guarantee. Also, it may ask the Council of the Federal Judiciary to investigate the conduct of any federal judge or magistrate.
(Third paragraph; Abrogated)
The Supreme Court of Justice may freely appoint and remove its secretary and other officials and employees. The magistrates and judges shall appoint and remove officials and employees of Circuit Courts and District Courts, respectively, in conformity with what is established by law with respect to the judicial profession.
Every four years, the Plenary shall elect one of its members as the President of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation who may not be reelected for the next immediate period.
Each minister of the Supreme Court of Justice, upon assuming office, shall take an oath before the Senate in the following form:
President: "Do you swear to faithfully and patriotically to carry out the office of minister of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation that has been conferred upon you and to safeguard and make others safeguard the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States and the laws that emanate from it, always seeking the welfare and prosperity of the Union?"
Minister: "Yes, I swear."
President: "If you do not do so, the Nation shall call you to account."
The Circuit magistrates and District judges shall take an oath before the Supreme Court of Justice and the Council of the Federal Judiciary.
When the absence of a minister has exceeded one month, the President of the Republic shall submit the appointment of a provisional minister for the approval of the Senate, observing the provisions of Article 96 of this Constitution.
In the event of the death of a minister or when there is a permanent vacancy for whatever reason, the President shall submit a new appointment for the approval of the Senate in accordance with the terms of Article 96 of this Constitution.
The resignations of ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice may be submitted only for serious reasons; they shall be submitted to the Executive and, if he accepts them, they shall be sent to the Senate for approval.
Leaves of absence of ministers, when they do not exceed one month, shall be granted by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation; those exceeding that time shall be granted by the President of the Republic, with the approval of the Senate. No leave may exceed the time of two years.
The Electoral Tribunal shall be, with the exception of the provisions of section II, Article 105 of this Constitution, the highest judicial authority on electoral matters and a specialized organ of the Judicial Power of the Federation.
In the exercise of its powers, the Tribunal shall function in a permanent manner with a Superior Chamber (Sala Superior) and regional chambers; its decision-making sessions shall be public under the terms determined by law. It shall have the judicial and administrative personnel necessary for its adequate functioning.
The Superior Chamber shall consist of seven electoral magistrates. The President of the Tribunal shall be elected by the Superior Chamber from among its members to hold the office for four years.
The Electoral Tribunal shall resolve definitively and without appeal, in accordance with the terms of this Constitution and the provisions of law, the following matters:
The Superior and regional chambers of the Tribunal may annul an election only on the grounds expressly established in the laws.
The Superior Chamber shall complete the final count of the votes in the election of the President of the United Mexican States once it has dealt with any challenges regarding the latter, and shall proceed to declare, as the case may be, the validity of the election and the election as President elect of the candidate who has attained the highest number of votes.
The chambers of the Electoral Tribunal shall use the necessary means of pressure in order to implement expeditiously its judgments and decisions, in the terms defined by the law.
The provisions of Article 105 of this Constitution notwithstanding, the chambers of the Electoral Tribunal may determine the non-applicability of laws on electoral matters which are contrary to this Constitution. The decisions which are adopted in the exercise of this faculty are limited to the specific case to which they apply. In these cases the Superior Chamber shall inform the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation.
When a chamber of the Electoral Tribunal supports an opinion about the unconstitutionality of an act or decision or about the interpretation of a provision of this Constitution and that opinion is possibly in conflict with a view maintained by the chambers or the Plenary of the Supreme Court of Justice, any of the ministers, chambers, or parties to the proceedings may denounce the conflict in the terms specified by law, so that the Plenary of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation decides definitively which opinion shall prevail. Decisions which are adopted in these circumstances do not affect cases which have already been settled.
The organization of the Tribunal, the power of the chambers, the procedures for the resolution of matters falling within its jurisdiction as well as the mechanisms for establishing binding precedents in the matter shall be determined by this Constitution and the laws.
The Superior Chamber, upon its own initiative, upon request of a party or of any of the regional chambers, may take over the proceedings before the latter; similarly it may defer cases under its jurisdiction to the local chambers for examination and resolution. The law shall fix the rules and procedures for the exercise of such faculties.
The administration, control and disciplinary oversight of the Electoral Tribunal shall be assigned, in the terms established by law, to a commission of the Council of the Federal Judiciary which shall consist of the President of the Electoral Tribunal, who shall preside over it; an electoral magistrate of the Superior Chamber picked among its members by drawing lots (insaculación); and three members of the Council of the Federal Judiciary. The Tribunal shall propose its budget to the President of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation for its inclusion in the proposed budget of the Judicial Power of the Federation. The Tribunal shall also adopt its internal regulations and general resolutions for its adequate functioning.
The electoral magistrates who make up the Superior and regional chambers shall be elected by a vote of two-thirds of the members present of the Senate upon proposal by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation. The election of its members shall take place successively, in accordance with the rules and the procedure determined by law.
The electoral magistrates who make up the Superior Chamber must fulfill the requirements established by the law which may not be less stringent than those which apply to ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, and shall remain in office for an unextendable period of nine years. The resignations, periods and leaves of absence of electoral magistrates of the Superior Chamber shall be discussed, approved, and granted by the Chamber itself, as appropriate, under the terms of Article 98 of this Constitution.
The electoral magistrates who constitute the regional chambers must satisfy all the requirements specified by law, which shall not be less stringent than those which apply magistrates of the multi-member Circuit Courts. They shall remain in office for an unextendable term of nine years, unless promoted to a higher office.
In case of a permanent vacancy a new magistrate shall be appointed for the remainder of the original term.
The labor relations of the Tribunal's personnel shall be regulated in accordance with the provisions applicable to the Judicial Power of the Federation and special rules or exceptions specified by law.
The Council of the Federal Judiciary shall be an organ of the Judicial Power of the Federation shall with independence in its technical, procedural and decision-making processes.
The Council shall consist of seven members, one of which shall be the President of the Supreme Court of Justice who shall also preside over the Council; three designated by the Plenary of the Court by a majority of at least eight votes from among the Circuit magistrates and District judges; two council members designated by the Senate and one designated by the President of the Republic.
All the council members must satisfy the requirements specified in Article 95 of this Constitution and be persons who have distinguished themselves for their professional and administrative capacity, their honesty and honor (honorabilidad) in the exercise of their activities, and in the case of those designated by the Supreme Court, they must also have distinguished themselves in the judicial ambit.
The Council shall function as a Plenary or in commissions. The Plenary of the Council shall resolve matters regarding the appointment, assignment, ratification and dismissal of magistrates and judges, as well as any other affairs determined by law.
Except for the President of the Council, the council members shall stay in office for five years, be replaced gradually and may not appointed for a new term.
Council members do not represent those who designated them, they shall exercise their functions with independence and impartiality. While in the office, they may be removed only in accordance with the terms of the Fourth Title of this Constitution.
The law shall establish the basis for the training of officials and keeping them up to date in the areas of the law, as well as for the development of the judicial profession, which shall be guided by the principles of excellence, objectivity, impartiality, professionalism, and independence.
The Council shall be empowered to enact general rules for the adequate exercise of its functions, in accordance with the terms established by the law. The Supreme Court of Justice may request from the Council that it issue any general resolutions considered necessary to ensure an adequate exercise of the federal jurisdictional function. The Plenary of the Court may also review, and as may be the case, revoke any Council resolutions by a majority of at least eight votes. The law shall establish the terms and procedures for the exercise of these powers (atribuciones).
The decisions of the Council shall be final and unchallengeable (inatactables), and as such, there shall be no judicial or any other recourse against them, except for those relating to the designation, assignment, ratification or dismissal of magistrates and judges, which may be reviewed by the Supreme Court of Justice, but only to verify that they were made in conformity to the rules established by the respective organic law.
The Supreme Court of Justice shall prepare its own budget, and the Council shall formulate it for the rest of the Judicial Power of the Federation without prejudice to the provisions of the seventh paragraph of Article 99 of this Constitution. The budgets so completed shall be remitted by the President of the Supreme Court for inclusion in the Budget of Expenditures of the Federation Bill. The administration of the Supreme Court will be incumbent upon its President.
The ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice, the Circuit magistrates, the District judges, their respective secretaries, and the members of the Council of the Federal Judiciary as well as the magistrates of the Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal may not in any case accept or hold employment or office of the Federation, the States, or of a private nature, except for non-remunerated positions in scientific, educational, literary, or charitable associations.
The persons who have held the office of minister of the Supreme Court of Justice, Circuit magistrate, District judge, or member of the Council of the Federal Judiciary, as well as magistrate of the Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal, may not, within two years after leaving office, act as employers (patronos), lawyers, or representatives in any process before the organs of the Judicial Power of the Federation.
During this period of time, the persons who have held the office of ministers, except those who served in a provisional or interim capacity, may not hold any of the offices specified in section VI of Article 95 of this Constitution.
The restrictions of this article shall be applicable to judicial officials who are on leave of absence.
The violation of that provided in the preceding paragraphs shall be punishable by the loss of the respective office within the Judicial Power of the Federation, as well as of any future compensation or benefits that he or she may have been entitled to, independent of any other sanctions that the laws provide.
The prosecution before the courts of all federal offenses shall be incumbent on the Public Ministry of the Federation; therefore, it shall request orders of apprehension for offenders; search for and present evidence as to their culpability; see that trials are conducted with due regularity to ensure that the administration of justice is prompt and efficient; request the application of punishment; and intervene in all other matters determined by law.
The Attorney General of the Republic shall personally intervene in controversies and actions referred to by Article 105 of this Constitution.
In all matters where the Federation is a party, in cases involving diplomats, and consuls general, and in any others in which the intervention of the Public Ministry of the Federation is necessary, the Attorney General does so himself or through his agents.
The Attorney General of the Republic and his agents shall be responsible for every offense, omission, or violation of law that they incur in the discharge of their functions.
The function of the legal counsel (consejero jurídico) of the government shall fall under a dependency of the Federal Executive, which, to that effect, the law establishes.
The organs referred to in the preceding paragraph shall formulate non-binding public recommendations (no vinculatorias) and denunciations and complaints before the respective authorities.
These organs shall not be competent in any electoral, labor, or jurisdictional matters.
The organ to be established by the Congress of the Union shall be known as the National Commission of Human Rights, which shall be autonomous in its management and budget, juridical personality, and its possessions.
The National Commission of Human Rights shall have a Consultative Council composed of ten members, who shall be elected by the vote of two-thirds of the present members of the Chamber of the Senators or, during its recess, by the Permanent Commission of the Congress of the Union by the same qualifying vote. The law shall determine the procedures to follow for the introduction of such nominations. The two most senior council members shall be replaced annually, unless they are nominated and ratified for a second period.
The President of the National Commission of Human Rights, who shall also preside over the Consultative Council, shall be elected under the same terms provided in the preceding paragraph. He shall remain in office for five years, can be reelected for only one additional term, and can only be removed from the position in under the terms of the Fourth Title of this Constitution.
The President of the National Commission of Human Rights shall present an annual activity report to the Powers of the Union. To that effect, he shall appear before the Chambers of the Congress under the terms provided by law.
The National Commission of Human Rights shall become acquainted with the inconformities (inconformidades) presented to it regarding the recommendations, agreements, or omissions of the equivalent organs of the federal entities.
The Federal Courts shall resolve all controversies that arise:
It is incumbent on the courts of the Federation to take cognizance of:
The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation shall determine, under the terms specified by the regulatory law, the following matters:
Whenever the controversies involve general provisions of the States or Municipalities challenged by the Federation, of the Municipalities challenged by the States, or in the cases referred to by clauses c), h), and k) above, and the resolution of the Supreme Court of Justice has declared such acts or provision invalid, such resolution shall have general effect only after it has been approved by a majority of at least eight votes.
In all other cases, the resolutions of the Supreme Court of Justice shall have effect only with respect to the parties in the controversy.
Such actions of unconstitutionality may be brought within thirty days following the publication of the norm, by:
The only way to raise the issue of inconsistency of electoral laws with the Constitution is that provided in this Article.
The federal and local electoral laws must be promulgated and published at least ninety (90) days before the electoral process begins in which they will be applicable, and there may be no fundamental legal modifications to them during that period.
The resolutions of the Supreme Court of Justice shall only declare the unconstitutionality of the challenged norms provided they were approved by a majority of at least eight votes.
The declaration of invalidity of the resolutions to which sections I and II of this article refer shall not have retroactive effects, except in criminal matters, which shall be governed by the general principles and legal provisions that are applicable to this matter.
In case of noncompliance with the resolutions referred to in sections I and II of this article, the procedures established in the first two paragraphs of section XVI of Article 107 of this Constitution shall be applicable.
It is incumbent on the Judicial Power of the Federation shall have, within the terms of the respective law, the responsibility to resolve controversies that, for the reason of competence arise between the courts of the Federation, and those of the States, between those of two States, and between the State courts and those of the Federal District.
All controversies referred to in Article 103 shall be subject to procedures and forms of the juridical order determined by law, in accordance with the following bases:
Judicial relief trials must resolve the complaints in accordance with the provisions of the Regulatory Law of Articles 103 and 107 of this Constitution.
In cases where members of an ejido or communal holders having a de facto or de jure communal status contest acts that resulted or could result in depriving them of ownership or possession and enjoyment of their lands, waters, pastures, and hills; all the evidence that can benefit the mentioned entities and individuals shall be collected, and the steps necessary and required to ensure the claimants' rights, shall be taken.
The cases referred to in the preceding paragraph shall not be dismissed for lack of procedural activity or expiry, at any level. When actions that affect the collective rights of concentrations of population are challenged, such challenges cannot be dismissed nor the actions consented to unless, in the first instance, they are agreed to by the General Assembly or the consent emanates from the latter.
The judgments in federal civil trials can be challenged in a case of judicial relief (amparo) by any of the parties, including the Federation, in defense of their patrimonial interests, and
The Supreme Court of Justice, on its own initiative or upon founded petition made by the corresponding Collegiate Circuit Courts or the Attorney General of Republic, may hear cases of direct judicial relief (amparo), when their interest and implications so merit.
The Supreme Court of Justice, on its own initiative or upon a founded petition made by the corresponding Collegiate Circuit Tribunal or the Attorney General of Republic, may hear cases of direct judicial relief (amparo) when their interest and implications so merit.
In the instances not referred to in the previous paragraphs, the cases of relief (amparo) will be brought before the Collegiate Circuit Courts, and there shall be no recourse admitted against their judgments;
Such suspension must be granted with respect to final judgments in criminal matters at the time notice is given of the application for a writ of relief (amparo), and in civil matters when bond is posted by the plaintiff to cover liability for damages resulting from the suspension, but this is waived if the other party also pays bond to ensure the restoration of things as they were if relief is granted and to pay resulting damages.
If the District judge or Unitary Circuit Tribunal does not reside in the same place where the responsible authority resides, the law shall specify the judge before whom the writ of relief must be presented, and that judge may provisionally suspend the act in question, in those cases and under the terms established in the same law.
When the Chambers of the Supreme Court of Justice sustain contradictory opinions in relief (amparo) cases within their competence, any one Chamber or the Attorney General of the Republic, or any of the parties who intervened in the cases in which these opinions were sustained, may denounce the contradiction before the Supreme Court of Justice, which, functioning in Plenary, shall decide which opinion shall prevail.
Both in this instance and in the case provided for in the preceding paragraph, the decision rendered by the sections or the Supreme Court as a whole shall be solely for the effect of setting the precedent and shall not affect the concrete judicial situation deriving from contradictory judgments in the case in which they were rendered.
When the nature of the act permits, the Supreme Court of Justice, once it has determined the noncompliance or repetition, may decide on its own to require compliance with the judgments of relief (amparo) when noncompliance seriously affects society or third parties in a greater proportion than the economic benefits that the plaintiff could obtain. Equally, the plaintiff may request the appropriate organ to force compliance with the judgment of relief, as long as the nature of the act allows it.
Procedural inactivity or the lack of advancement by the interested party in cases to enforce the judgments on relief (amparo) shall result in its expiry in accordance with the terms of the regulatory law.
For the purposes of determining the responsibilities set forth in this title, public officials shall be deemed to include popularly elected representatives, members of the Federal Judicial Power and the Judicial Power of the Federal District, officials and employees, and in general all persons who hold positions, duties, or commissions of any nature in the Congress of the Union, the Legislative Assembly of the Federal District, the Federal Public Administration or the Federal District, as well as officials of entities which are endowed by this Constitution with autonomy, all of whom shall be liable for the acts or omissions perpetrated in the discharge of their respective functions.
During his term of office the President of the Republic may be impeached only for treason to the country and serious common law crimes.
The State governors, deputies of the local legislatures, and magistrates of Superior Tribunals of Local Justice, and, as the case may be, the members of Councils of the Local Judiciaries shall be liable for violations of this Constitution and the federal laws as well as for the improper administration of federal funds and resources.
The constitutions of the States of the Republic shall confer, in the same terms as the first paragraph of this Article and consistent with their responsibilities, the status of public officials to those persons who hold employment, duties, or commissions in the States and the municipalities.
The Congress of the Union and the Legislatures of the States, within the scope of their respective competences, shall enact laws establishing the responsibilities of public officials and any other norms for which they may be held accountable, specifying their liabilities, in accordance with the following considerations:
A political trial cannot take place for the mere expression of ideas.
The procedures for the application of the aforementioned sanctions shall be developed autonomously. Sanctions of the same nature may not be imposed twice for a single act.
The laws shall determine the instances and circumstances under which public officials may be criminally penalized for illicit enrichment while holding their offices, for themselves or for any other person, when they substantially increase their wealth, acquire goods, or utilize goods as if they were their owners, when there is no legal justification to do so. The criminal laws shall include the penalties of confiscation and seizure of these goods besides any other sanctions it deems appropriate.
Any citizen, under his/her most strict responsibility and through the presentation of evidence, may formulate an accusation before the Chamber of Deputies of the Congress of the Union with respect to the conduct referred to in this article.
The following may be subject to political trial: the Senators and Deputies of the Congress of the Union, the Ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, the Members of the Council of the Federal Judiciary, the Secretaries of State (Secretarios de Despacho), the Representatives of the Assembly of the Federal District, the Head of Government of the Federal District, the Attorney General of the Republic, the Attorney General of Justice of the Federal District, Circuit Magistrates and District Judges, the Magistrates and Judges of Common Law (Fuero Común) of the Federal District; the Members of the Council of the Judiciary of the Federal District; the Council President, council members and the executive secretary of the Federal Electoral Institute, the magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal, the Directors General or their equivalents of decentralized bodies, enterprises with majority state participation, societies and associations associated with these, and public trusts.
The State governors, local deputies, magistrates of local Superior Tribunals of Justice, and, in their case, the members of the councils of state judiciaries, may be subject to political trial under the terms of this title only for serious violations of this Constitution and the federal laws that emanate from it, as well as for the improper administration of federal funds and resources, but in this case, the ruling shall be only declarative, and it shall be communicated to the state legislatures so that, in the exercise of their powers, they may proceed accordingly.
The sanctions shall consist of the dismissal of the public official, who from that point shall be unable to hold any position, employment, duty, or commission of any nature in the public service.
For the application of the sanctions referred to above, the Chamber of Deputies shall remit the respective accusation to the Chamber of Senators, such declaration having been made by the majority of the members present in the session of the Chamber of Deputies, and after having concluded the proceeding and hearing the accused.
Cognizant of the accusation, the Chamber of Senators constituted as a grand jury shall impose the appropriate penalty by resolution of two-thirds of the members present in session, with the appropriate diligence and after hearing the accused.
The declarations and resolutions of the Chambers of Deputies and the Senators are unchallengeable (inatacables).
In order to proceed criminally against the Deputies and Senators of the Congress of the Union, the ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, the magistrates of the Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal, the council members of the Federal Judiciary, the Secretaries of State, the Representatives of the Assembly of the Federal District, the Head of Government of the Federal District, the Attorney General of the Republic and the Attorney General of Justice of the Federal District, as well as the president and members of the General Council of the Federal Electoral Institute, for the commission of crimes while in office, the Chamber of Deputies must declare by an absolute majority of its members present in session, whether or not there are grounds to proceed against the accused.
If the Chamber's resolution is negative, all further proceedings shall be suspended, but that shall not constitute an obstacle for the accused to be charged with such crime after he or she has left office, for this decision does not, in any way, prejudge the merits of the accusation (imputación).
If the Chamber declares that there are grounds to proceed, the subject shall be at the disposal (disposición) of the competent authorities, which shall then proceed in accordance with the law.
Regarding the President of the Republic, the accusation shall only be brought before the Chamber of Senators in accordance with the terms of Article 110. In this instance, the Chamber of Senators shall reach a decision based on the applicable penal legislation.
To be able to proceed penalty against the State governors, local deputies, magistrates of the Superior Tribunals of Justice of the States, and, as may be the case, members of the local councils of the judiciary, for federal crimes, the same procedures previously established in this article shall be followed, but, in these cases, the declaration of justification will have the effect of communicating to the state legislatures that by exercising their power they may proceed as appropriate.
The declarations and resolutions of the Chambers of Deputies and the Senators are unchallengeable.
The effect of the declaration that gives grounds to proceed against the accused shall be loss of office and shall make him subject to a criminal process. If the accused is acquitted, he may resume his office. However, if he is found guilty of a crime committed during the exercise of the office, the defendant (indulto) shall not be granted a pardon.
A declaration of justification (procedencia) shall not be required in proceedings of the civil order that are brought against any public official.
Penal sanctions will be applied in accordance with penal legislation, and in the case of crimes from which the accused obtained an economic benefit or caused economic damage or injury, such sanctions must be in proportion to the profit obtained and with the need to satisfy the damages and injuries caused by the illicit conduct.
The economic sanctions shall not exceed three times the benefits obtained or the damages or injuries caused.
A declaration of justification from the Chamber of Deputies is not required when a public official, as referred to in the first paragraph of Article 111, commits a crime during the time when he was not holding office.
If the public official has returned to discharge his or has been named or elected to another post covered by Article 111, the proceedings shall follow the provisions of that precept.
The laws regarding administrative responsibilities shall determine the obligations of public officials, with the purpose of safeguarding the legality, honor, loyalty, impartiality, and efficiency in the discharge of their functions, positions, duties, and commissions; the sanctions applicable for acts or omissions that they incur, as well as the procedures and authorities to apply them. These penalties shall consist, in addition to those provided by law, of suspension, dismissal, and disqualification, as well as economic sanctions, and must be set in proportion to the economic benefits obtained by the responsible and with the economic damages caused by his acts or omissions as referred to by section III of Article 109, but they may not exceed three times the benefits obtained or the damages and injuries caused.
The responsibility of the State for damages caused to the property or rights of private individuals resulting from irregular administrative activities shall be objective and direct. The individuals shall have the right to an indemnification in accordance with the bases, limits, and procedures established by law.
The political trial procedure may be initiated only during the period in which the public official is in office and within a year afterwards. The corresponding sanctions shall be applied within a period no greater than a year after the procedure is initiated.
The responsibility for crimes committed during the time in office by any public official will be required to be in accordance with the prescriptive terms of prescription provided in the penal law, which shall never be less than three years. The prescriptive terms are interrupted when a public official holds one of the offices referred to in Article 111.
The law shall specify the cases of prescription of administrative responsibility, taking into account the nature and consequences of the acts and omissions as referred to in section III of Article 109. When these acts or omissions are serious, the prescriptive terms shall not be less than three years.
The States shall adopt, for their internal government (régimen), the republican, representative, and popular form of government (gobierno), with the "Free Municipality" (Municipio Libre) as the basis of their territorial division and political and administrative organization, in accordance with the following principles:
Municipal presidents, aldermen and members of the councils, chosen by direct popular election, may not be reelected for the term immediately following. Persons who discharge the functions of those offices either by indirect election, appointment or designation by any authority, no matter what title they may be given, likewise may not be reelected for the term immediately following. None of the aforementioned officials, when [actually] holding office, may be elected for the term immediately following as alternates, but persons designated as alternates may be elected as office holders the term immediately following unless they have performed such duties during the preceding term.
The local legislatures, with the consent of two-thirds of their members, may suspend the councils, declare their dissolution, and suspend or revoke the office of any of their members for any of the serious causes that the local law provides (prevenga), as long as their members have had sufficient opportunity to submit the evidence and make the arguments that in their judgment they believe to be opportune.
Members leaving office shall be substituted by their alternates or according to the provisions of the law.
In cases where a council has been declared dissolved or when, because of the resignation or absence of the majority of its members and where, conforming to the law, it is not appropriate for the alternates to enter into their functions and there are no new elections, the State legislatures shall appoint people to the municipal councils from within the community to conclude the respective terms. These councils shall consist of the number of members determined by law, and they shall comply with the same eligibility requirements as established for the aldermen.
The councils shall be empowered to approve, in accordance with the laws on municipal matters enacted by the state legislatures, the orders of police and government, and the regulations, circulars and administrative provision of general observance within their respective jurisdictions, that organize the public municipal administration, regulate the matters, procedures, functions, and public services of their competence and ensure citizen and community participation.
The purpose of the laws referred to in the preceding paragraph is to establish:
The state legislatures shall issue the norms for the settlement of any disputes which may arise between municipalities and the state government, or among themselves, resulting from acts derived from clauses c) and d) above.
Without prejudice to their constitutional competences, in the discharge of functions or providing services that are their responsibility, municipalities must observe (observarán) provisions of federal and state laws.
The Municipalities, subject to a previous agreement among their councils, may coordinate and associate with each other in order to provide public services more efficiently or to ensure the most professional exercise of the functions that correspond to them. In this case and when the association involves municipalities of two or more States, the prior consent of the legislatures of the respective States shall be required. At the same time, when the respective council deems it necessary, they may conclude compacts with the State, so that the latter may either directly or through the corresponding organ temporarily assume the administration of some of them, or in coordination by both the State and the municipality.
The indigenous communities within the municipal ambit may coordinate and associate with one another under the terms and for the purpose provided by law.
The Municipalities may make compacts with their States so that the latter may assume some of the responsibilities related to the administration of the aforementioned contributions.
Federal laws shall not limit the power of the States to establish the taxes referred to in clauses a) and c), and they shall not grant any exemptions to them. State laws shall not establish exemptions or subsidies with respect to the mentioned contributions in favor of any person or institution. Only the goods of the public domain of the Federation, the States, or of municipalities will be exempt from these taxes, except when these goods are used by state entities or private parties, under any title, for administrative ends, or objectives distinct from the public end.
The councils, within the ambit of their competence, shall propose to the state legislatures the fees and tariffs applicable to taxes, licenses, building permits, and the tables of per-unit values of land and construction which serve as the base for the collection of taxes on real property.
The State legislatures shall pass laws establishing the income laws of the municipalities and shall review and scrutinize their public accounts. The budgets of expenditures shall be approved by the council on the basis of their disposable income.
The resources constituting the municipal finances shall be managed directly by the councils or by whomever they shall authorize in accordance with the law.
In conducting these, and in accordance with the objectives set forth in the third paragraph of Article 27 of this Constitution, they shall enact the regulations and administrative provisions that are deemed to be necessary.
The Federal Executive shall be in command of the public forces in the locations where he usually or temporarily resides.
The labor relations between municipalities and their workers shall be regulated by the laws enacted by the State legislatures on the basis of provisions of Article 123 of this Constitution and their regulatory provisions.
The public power of the States shall be divided, for its exercise, into Executive, Legislative, and Judicial and two or more of these powers shall never reside in a single person or body, nor shall the legislative power be vested in a single individual.
The powers of the States shall be organized in accordance with their respective constitutions, subject to the following norms:
The elections of the Governors of the States and of the local legislatures shall be direct, and in accordance with the provisions of the respective electoral laws.
The Governors of the States, regardless of whether they took office by ordinary or extraordinary popular election, may in no case and for no reason return to occupy the office, not even in the capacity of interim, provisional, substitute, or acting Governor.
The following may never be reelected for the term immediately following:
Only a Mexican citizen by birth and native of the State in question, or with effective residence in the State of no less than five years immediately before the day of the election, may become the constitutional governor of a State.
Deputies to the State legislatures may not be reelected for the immediately following term. Alternate deputies may be elected for the immediately following term in the capacity of a regular (propietario) deputy, as long as they had not been in the exercise of the office, but regular deputies may not be reelected for the immediately following term in the capacity of alternates.
State legislatures will be composed of deputies elected according to the principles of relative majority and proportional representation, in accordance with the terms specified by their laws.
The independence of magistrates and judges in the exercise of their function must be guaranteed by the constitutions and organic laws of the States, which shall also establish the conditions for the entrance, formation, and permanence of those who serve in the Judicial Powers of the States.
Magistrates of the local Judicial Powers must meet the requisites specified by sections I to V of Article 95 of this Constitution. Persons who have held the offices of Secretary or its equivalent, Attorney General or local deputy in their respective States may not become State magistrates for one year after they have left such offices.
The appointments of magistrates and judges who make up the local Judicial Powers shall be made preferably from those persons who have rendered their services with efficiency and probity in the administration of justice, or who deserve such appointment for their proven honor, competence, and previous experience in other branches of the legal profession.
Magistrates will remain in the exercise of their duties for the time specified by the local Constitution (Constituciones locales), may be reelected, and, if that were the case, may be deprived of their post only under the terms determined by the Constitutions and Laws of Responsibility of Public Officials.
Magistrates and judges shall receive adequate and non-renounceable compensation, which cannot be diminished while in office.
The States shall be empowered to enter into compacts with their municipalities with the effect of having them assume the provision of the services or the attention to the functions referred to in the preceding paragraph.
The States may not in any case:
States and municipalities may not contract such obligations or loans except when they are destined for productive public investments, and this prohibition is also applicable to decentralized organizations and public enterprises, in accordance with the bases that the legislatures establish by law and by the provisions and up to the amounts that the laws annually set in the budgets. The executives shall report on these in giving their public accounts.
The Congress of the Union and the State legislatures shall immediately enact laws designed to combat alcoholism.
Nor shall the States, without the consent of the Congress of the Union:
The Powers of the Union have the duty of protecting the States against all foreign invasion or violence. In any case of internal uprising or disturbance, they shall give them equal protection, provided it is requested by the legislature of the State or by its Executive if the former is not in session.
Each State and the Federal District is obligated to deliver without delay those accused, processed, or sentenced, as well as practice the securing and delivering of objects, instruments, or products of crime, assisting the authority of any of the federal entities that requires such assistance. These formalities will be practiced, with the intervention of the respective general procuratura of justice, in accordance with the terms of the compacts of collaboration, which, for this purpose, the federal entities may conclude. With the same objectives, the States and the Federal District may enter into compacts of collaboration with the Federal Government, which will be represented by the General Procuratura of the Republic.
Requests for extradition from a foreign State shall be dealt with by the Federal Executive, with the intervention of the judicial authority, in accordance with the terms of this Constitution, the international treaties signed in that respect, and the regulatory laws. In those cases, the writ of the judge ordering compliance with the requests shall be sufficient to motivate the detention of up to sixty (60) natural days.
The governors of the States are required to publish and enforce federal laws.
Complete faith and credit shall be given in each State of the Federation to the public acts, registries, and judicial proceedings of all the others. The Congress of the Union, through general laws, shall prescribe the manner of proving (probar) such acts, registries, and proceedings, and their effect, by subjecting them to the following principles:
Judgments on personal rights shall be executed in another State only when the defendant has expressly or by reason of domicile submitted to the court that pronounced it and provided he has been personally cited to appear at the judicial hearing.
Consistent with Article 44 of this fundamental law (ordenamiento), which defines the juridical nature of the Federal District, its government shall be the responsibility of the federal powers and the executive, legislative, and judicial organs of a local character, in accordance with the terms of this article.
The local authorities of the Federal District shall include the Legislative Assembly, the Head of Government of the Federal District, and the Superior Tribunal of Justice.
The Legislative Assembly of the Federal District will consist of a number of elected deputies, chosen in accordance to the principles of relative majority and proportional representation, through a system of lists voted on in one multiple districts, in accordance with the terms specified by this Constitution and the Statute of Government.
The Head of Government of the Federal District shall be responsible for executive and public administration of the entity, and such office shall be vested in a single person, elected by a universal, free, direct, and secret vote.
The Superior Tribunal of Justice and the Council of the Judiciary, together with the other organs established by the Statute of Government, shall exercise the judicial function of common order in the Federal District.
The distribution of competences among the powers of the Union and the local authorities of the Federal District shall be subject to the following provisions:
The law of income shall not include any debts in excess of those which the Congress of the Union has previously authorized for the financing of the Budget of Expenditures of the Federal District.
The power of the respective initiation of the law of income and the budget of expenditures belongs exclusively to the Head of Government of the Federal District. The period for its presentation concludes on the 30th of November with the exception of the years when an ordinary election of the Head of Government of the Federal District takes place, in which case the deadline shall be the 20th of December.
The Legislative Assembly shall formulate its annual budget bill, which shall be opportunely sent to the Head of Government of the Federal District for its inclusion in his initiative.
The provisions contained in the second paragraph of clause c), section IV, of Article 115 of this Constitution shall be applicable to the public treasury of the Federal District in all areas not incompatible with its nature and its organic regimen of government (régimen orgánico de gobierno).
The public account of the previous year must be presented to the Legislative Assembly within the first ten days of the month of June. This period, as well as those established for the presentation of the proposed law of revenue and the budget of expenditures, may only be extended in instances where the Executive of the Federal District has provided a sufficiently justified reason in the judgment of the Assembly;
To be Head of Government of the Federal District, one must satisfy the requirements established by the Statute of Government, which must include: being a Mexican by birth in the full exercise of his rights, with an effective residence of three years immediately prior to the day of the election if he is originally from the Federal District, or five uninterrupted years for those born in another entity; to have attained the age of thirty (30) years by the day of the election, and to not have previously held the office of Head of Government of the Federal District in any form. Residence is not interrupted by holding public offices of the Federation in another territorial ambit.
In the case of removal of the Head of Government of the Federal District, the Senate shall appoint, at the request of the President of the Republic, a substitute to complete the term. In the case of a temporary vacancy, the public official specified by the Statute of Government shall fill the vacancy. In the case of a permanent vacancy, either because of resignation or any other cause, the Legislative Assembly shall designate a substitute to conclude the term. The resignation of the Head of Government of the Federal District may be accepted only for serious causes. Leaves from the office shall be regulated in the Statute itself.
Likewise, to set the criteria to implement the territorial division of the Federal District, as well as the competence of the corresponding political-administrative organs, the form of their composition, functioning, and the relations of the organs with the Head of Government of the Federal District.
The officials (titulares) of the political-administrative organs of the territorial demarcation shall be elected, in universal, free, secret, and direct form, in accordance with the conditions determined by law.
In order to fill the vacancies of magistrates of the Superior Tribunal of Justice, the Head of Government of the Federal District shall submit the respective proposal for the decision by the Legislative Assembly. Magistrates shall hold their office for six years and must be ratified by the Assembly; and if they are, they may only be deprived of their posts under the terms of the Fourth Title of this Constitution.
The Council shall designate the judges of first instance and any others that may be created in the Federal District, in accordance with the terms that the provisions regarding the judicial career foresee.
The norms for its composition and powers shall be determined in consistency with its own Organic Law.
These commissions shall be constituted by mutual agreement of the participants. The form of integration, structure and operation shall be determined in the instrument of creation.
The commission shall establish:
Every person has the right to dignified and socially useful work. To that effect, the creation of jobs and the social organization shall be advanced in accordance with the law.
The Congress of the Union, without contravening the following basic principles, shall enact labor laws which shall govern:
The general minimum wages must be sufficient to satisfy the normal material, social, and cultural needs of the head of a family and to provide for the compulsory education of his children. The occupational minimum wage shall be set by also taking into consideration the conditions of different economic activities.
The minimum wages shall be set by a national commission consisting of representatives of the workers, employers, and the government, which may be assisted by the special consulting commissions that are considered indispensable for the best discharge of their functions.
The enactment of a law for the creation of an organization composed of representatives of the Federal Government, workers, and employers, to administer the resources of the national housing fund, will be considered a social utility. This law shall regulate the forms and procedures by which workers may acquire the above referenced housing.
The businesses (negociaciones) referred to in the first paragraph of this section, which are located away from the centers of population, are obligated to establish schools, clinics, and any other services necessary to the community.
Furthermore, when the population in the aforementioned centers of work exceeds two hundred inhabitants, a tract of land measuring no less than five thousand (5,000) square meters shall be reserved for the establishment of public markets, the construction of buildings destined for municipal services, and recreation centers.
Establishments for the sale of intoxicating beverages and gaming houses are prohibited in all work centers.
The offering of this service shall take into account the demand for work and, under equal conditions, shall give priority to persons who are the sole source of income for their family.
Likewise it shall be the exclusive competence of the federal authorities. The application of labor provisions in affairs relative to conflicts that affect two or more federal entities; collective contracts that have been declared obligatory in more than one federal entity; employer's obligations in educational matters, in the manner and form fixed by the respective law; and with respect to the obligation of employers in matters of training and continuing education of their workers, as well as safety and sanitation in the workplace. To achieve these things, the federal authorities will be assisted by the States, when types of activities or industry are within the scope of the local jurisdiction in accordance with the terms of the corresponding regulatory laws.
In no case may wages be lower than the minimum for workers in general in the Federal District and in the entities of the Republic.
In the event of an unjustifiable discharge, a worker has the right to choose between reinstatement in his work or to the appropriate indemnity as determined by legal proceedings. In cases of abolishment of positions, the affected workers shall have the right to another position equivalent to the one abolished or to receive indemnification, in accordance with the law.
The contributions made to this fund shall be entrusted to the organ (organismo) responsible for social security, and the methods and procedures for the management and administration of the fund and the granting and adjudication of the respective credits shall be regulated by law;
The disputes between the Judicial Power of the Federations and its employees shall be settled by the Council of the Federal Judiciary. Those arising between the Supreme Court of Justice and its employees shall be settled by the former.
The State shall provide the members of the Army, Navy and Air Force who are on active duty the benefits referred to in subsection f) of section XI of this section, in similar terms and through the organ responsible for social security or the components of these institutions.
The members of the police institutions of the municipalities, federal entities, and the Federal District, as well as those of the Federation may be removed from their posts if they do not comply with the requirements of the prevailing (vigente) laws regarding these institutions at the time of their removal. They may not be reinstalled or compensated, regardless of the outcome of any judicial proceeding or other means of defense brought to contest the removal, and, as may be the case, shall only be entitled to an indemnification. The removal of the other public officials referred to in this section shall be governed by provisions of the applicable legal precepts.
The powers that are not expressly granted by this Constitution to federal officials are understood to be reserved to the States.
No individual may hold two popularly elected federal offices at the same time or one of the Federation and another of a State, also by popular election; but the elected person may choose which of the two he desires to hold.
No payment may be made for anything that is not included in the budget or provided for in a subsequent law.
The President of the Republic, the ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, the Deputies and Senators of the Congress of the Union, the Representatives to the Assembly of the Federal District and all other public officials shall receive an adequate and non-renounceable remuneration for the carrying out of their duties, employment, functions, or commission, which shall be determined annually and equitably in the Budget of Expenditures of the Federation and the Federal District, or in the budgets of the state entities, as appropriate.
Every public official, without exception of any kind, before taking possession of his or her office shall take an oath to uphold the Constitution and the laws emanating from it.
No military authority may, in time of peace, perform any functions other than those that are directly connected with military affairs. There shall only be fixed and permanent military commands in the castles, forts, and depots, which are immediately subordinate to the Government of the Union; or in encampments, quarters, or barracks established outside populated areas for the stationing of troops.
The historic principle of separation of the State and the churches guides the norms contained in the present article. All churches and other religious groups are subject to the law.
It shall be the exclusive responsibility of the Congress of the Union to legislate in matters regarding public cults, churches, and religious groups. The respective regulatory law, which shall be of public order, shall develop and implement the following provisions:
The formation of any class of political groups with a title containing any word or other indication of relation with any religious denomination is strictly prohibited. No meeting of a political character may be held in temples.
The simple promise to tell the truth and to carry out any obligations which are contracted subjects the person who is making such promises in case he/she does not honor them to the penalties provided for this purpose by the law.
Ministers of cults, their ancestors, descendants, siblings and spouses as well as the religious associations to which they belong shall be incapable of inheriting by testament from those persons that they have guided or helped spiritually and who are not within the fourth degree of kinship in relation to them.
All acts related to the civil status of persons shall fall within the exclusive competence of the administrative authorities as established by law and shall have the force and validity that these laws attribute to them.
The federal authorities and those of the States and municipalities shall have, in matters related to civil status, the powers and responsibilities determined by the law.
The Federation has exclusive power to levy duties on goods that are imported or exported or that pass in transit through the national territory, as well as to regulate at all times, and even to prohibit, for police or security reasons, the circulation in the interior of the Republic of all classes of goods, regardless of origin; however, the Federation itself may not establish or enact, in the Federal District, those taxes and laws referred to in sections VI and VII of Article 117.
The Executive may be empowered by the Congress of the Union to increase, reduce, or abolish tariff rates on exports and imports, that were imposed by the Congress itself, and to establish others; likewise to restrict and to prohibit the importation, exportation, or transit of products, articles, and goods, when he deems this expedient for the purpose of regulating foreign commerce, the economy of the country, the stability of domestic production, or for accomplishing any other purpose for the benefit of the country. In submitting the fiscal budget to the Congress each year, the Executive shall request its approval of the use it has made of this power.
The forts, barracks, depots, and other facilities used by the Government of the Union for public service or for common use shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Powers in accordance with provisions to be established in a law enacted by the Congress of the Union; but, in order that property acquired in the future within the territory of any State shall likewise be under federal jurisdiction, the consent of the respective legislature shall be necessary.
This Constitution, the laws of the Congress of the Union that emanate therefrom, and all the treaties that have been concluded and shall be concluded in accordance therewith by the President of the Republic, with the approval of the Senate, shall be the Supreme Law of the whole Union. The judges of each State shall conform to this Constitution, the laws and treaties, in spite of any contradictory provisions that may appear in the constitutions and laws of the States.
The economic resources available to the Federal Government and the Government of the Federal District, as well as to their respective state administrations, shall be administered with efficiency, effectiveness, and honor to satisfy the objectives to which they are destined.
All acquisitions, leases, and transfers of all classes of goods, provision of services of any nature, and the contracting of works that the government undertakes shall be awarded or carried out through open bidding by means of a public call so that solvent proposals may be freely submitted. The proposals shall be presented as sealed bids, to be open publicly, so as to ensure to the State the best conditions available with regards to price, quality, financing, opportunity, and other pertinent circumstances.
When the bids referred to in the preceding paragraphs are not suitable to assure the desired conditions, the laws shall establish the bases, procedures, rules, requirements, and other elements to guarantee the economy, effectiveness, efficiency, impartiality, and honesty that would ensure the best conditions for the State.
The management of the federal economic resources shall be subject to the provisions of this article.
Public officials shall be responsible for complying with these bases in accordance with the terms of the Fourth Title of this Constitution.
Public officials of the Federation, the States and the municipalities, as well as of the Federal District and its delegations always have the duty to use with impartiality the public funds under their responsibility, without influencing the fairness of the competition between the political parties.
The propaganda which the state authorities, the autonomous organs, the branch offices and the entities of the public administration and any other unit of the three branches of government disseminate in their official capacity, regardless of the form of communication, must have an institutional character and pursue goals of information, education or social orientation. In no case this propaganda shall include the names, images, voices or symbols that could imply the personal promotion of a public official.
The laws shall guarantee within their respective scope of application the strict compliance with the provisions in the two preceding paragraphs, including the sanctions regime to which it may give rise.
The present Constitution may be added to, or amended. For the additions or amendments to become a part thereof, it shall be required that the Congress of the Union, by a vote of two-thirds of the members present, agrees to the amendments or additions and that they be approved by a majority of the legislatures of the States.
The Congress of the Union, or the Permanent Commission, as the case may be, shall count the votes of the legislatures and shall announce those additions or amendments that have been approved.
This Constitution shall not lose its force and effect (fuerza y vigor) even if its observance is interrupted by rebellion. In the event that a government whose principles are contrary to those that are sanctioned herein should become established as a result of a public disturbance, as soon as the people recover their liberty, its observance shall be reestablished, and those who had taken part in the government emanating from the rebellion, as well as those who cooperated with such persons, shall be judged in accordance with this Constitution and the laws that have been enacted by virtue thereof.
This Constitution shall be published at once and, with the greatest solemnity, an oath shall be made to preserve and cause it to be preserved throughout the Republic; but with exception of the provisions relating to the election of the supreme federal and state powers which shall enter into force immediately, it shall not take effect until the first day of May 1917, on which date the Constitutional Congress shall be formally installed and the citizen elected in the next elections shall take the oath of office so as to exercise the office of President of the Republic.
In the elections that must be called in accordance with the following article, section V of Article 82 shall not apply, nor shall it be an impediment to being a Deputy or Senator to be in active service in the Armed Forces, provided that such service is not to command the forces in the electoral district in question; neither shall Secretaries or Deputy Secretaries of State be barred from election to the next Congress of the Union, provided that they have been definitely separated from their position on the day that the respective call is issued.
As soon as this Constitution is published, the [citizen] entrusted with the Executive Power of the Nation shall call for elections to the Federal Powers, making sure that they are conducted in such a manner as to guarantee the constitution of the Congress in time for the declaration of the person who has been elected President of the Republic after the votes in the presidential elections have been counted, so that the provisions of the preceding Article can be complied with.
The next constitutional term for Deputies and Senators shall begin to run as of the past year's first (1st) of September, and for the President of the Republic, from December 1, 1916.
The Senators bearing even numbers at the next election shall hold office for two years only, so that, thereafter, one-half of the Senate may be renewed every two years.
The Congress of the Union shall elect the magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation next May, so that this august body may be solemnly installed on the first of June.
Article 96 shall not govern at this election with respect to the proposed candidates by the local legislatures, but those selected shall only serve for the first two-year terms provided for in Article 94.
The Congress of the Union shall have an extraordinary period of sessions which shall begin on April 15, 1917, to constitute itself as an Electoral College to compute the votes and certify the election of President of the Republic by making the respective declaration; and also to enact the Organic Law for Circuit and District Courts and the Organic Law of the Courts of the Federal District and territorial courts, so that the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation may immediately appoint the Circuit magistrates and District judges, and the Congress of the Union may select the judges of first instance for the Federal District and the Territories; it shall also enact all laws in consultation with the Executive Power of the Nation. The Circuit magistrates and District judges and the magistrates and judges of the Federal District and Territories must take possession of their offices before July 1, 1917, at which time those persons who had been appointed by the official in charge of the Executive Power of the Nation shall cease to function.
For this time, the computation of the votes for Senators shall be made by the elections board of the first electoral district in each State or the Federal District, as organized for counting the votes for Deputies, and these boards shall issue the corresponding credentials to the Senators elected.
The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation shall rule on all pending cases of relief (amparo), subject to the laws currently in effect.
The citizen in command of the Constitutionalist Army, entrusted with the Executive Power of the Union, is empowered to issue the Electoral Law, under which, for this time, the elections shall be held to form the Powers of the Union.
Those who have taken part in the government that emanated from the rebellion against the legitimate Government of the Republic or those who cooperated with it, afterwards taking up arms or holding office or employment with the factions that attacked the Constitutionalist Government, shall be tried under the laws in force unless pardoned by such Government.
Until the Congress of the Union and the State legislatures enact laws governing the agrarian and labor problems, the bases established by this Constitution for these laws shall be put into force throughout the Republic.
The Mexicans who served in the Constitutionalist Army and their sons, daughters, and widows, and the other persons who rendered services to the cause of the Revolution or to public education shall have preference in the acquisition of parcels of land referred to in Article 27 and the right to the discounts specified by law.
All debts contracted by workers, by reason of their labor, up to the date of this Constitution, with their employers or their employers' families or intermediaries are hereby fully canceled.
The Secretariat of Justice is hereby abolished.
The citizen entrusted with the Executive Power of the Union shall be empowered to issue a law on civil responsibility applicable to the authors, accomplices, and concealers of the crimes perpetrated against the constitutional order during the month of February 1913 and against the Constitutionalist Government.
The Constitutional Congress, in its ordinary period of sessions, which will begin on the first of September of the current year, shall enact all the organic laws of the Constitution that have not already been enacted during the extraordinary period referred to in Transitory Article 6 and shall give preference to the laws relating to individual guarantees and to Articles 30, 32, 33, 35, 36, 38, 107, and the final part of Article 111 of this Constitution.
(Abrogated).
(Abrogated).
(Abrogated).
[* The official Spanish Text of the Mexican Constitution includes the transitory provisions (transitorios) of all amending decrees entered into force since September 3, 1993. However, as most transitory provisions have already been implemented or have otherwise become obsolete, this translation only includes the transitory provisions which have yet to be fully or partially implemented. The other decrees have been omitted from publication]
* * *Decree reforming Articles 6, 41, 85, 99, 108, 116 and 122, adding article 134 and abrogating a paragraph of Article 97 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States
Published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación, November 13, 2007
The first paragraph of Article 6 is amended; Articles 41 and 99 are reformed and extended; the first paragraph of Article 85 is amended; the first paragraph of Article 108 is amended; section IV of Article 116 is amended and extended; letter f) of section V of the first basis of Article 122 is amended; three paragraphs are added in Article 134; and the third paragraph of Article 97 is abrogated, all in the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States. They have the following wording: .........................
This decree shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Diario Oficial de la Federación.
For once the Federal Electoral Institute shall establish, in accordance with the legal bases which are enacted, a spending limit for the presidential campaign in the year 2008, only for the purpose of determining the total amount of private funding which each political party may receive annually.
The Congress of the Union must implement the necessary adjustments in the federal laws within a maximum delay of thirty days from the entry into force of this decree.
In order to implement the provisions in the third paragraph of basis V of Article 41 of this Constitution the Chamber of Deputies shall proceed, within a delay of no more than 30 days from the entry into force of this Decree, with the appointment of the members of the General Council of the Federal Electoral Institute in conformity with the following bases:
The electoral councilors and the President of the General Council of the Federal Electoral Institute who are in office at the time of entry into force of this Decree shall continue in their functions until the Chamber of Deputies implements the provisions of this Article. The appointment of alternate electoral councilors of the General Council of the Federal Electoral Institute in the Decree published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on the date of October 31, 2003 shall remain ineffective.
The renewal in successive stages of the Electoral Magistrates of the Superior Chamber and the regional chambers of the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Power of the Federation to which Article 99 of the Constitution refers shall take place in accordance with the rules of the Organic Law on the Judicial Power of the Federation.
The legislatures of the States and the Legislative Assembly of the Federal District must adjust their applicable legislation in accordance with the provisions of this Decree at the latest one year after its entry into force; the provisions in Article 105, section II, paragraph 4 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States shall be observed, as the case may be.
The States which at the time of entry into force of this Decree have initiated electoral processes or are about to initiate them shall hold their elections in accordance with their existing constitutional and legal provisions; but once the electoral process has been completed they must implement the adjustments referred to in the preceding paragraph within the same time limit, starting with the days following the completion of the respective electoral process.
All provisions which conflict with this Decree are abrogated.