- This article is about the current Political Constitution of the United Mexican States. For earlier constitutional texts governing that country, see Constitutions of Mexico.
The Political Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1917 is the present constitution of Mexico.
The 1917 Constitution was drafted in Santiago de Querétaro during the Mexican Revolution. It was approved by the Constitutional Congress on February 5, 1917, with Venustiano Carranza serving as the first president under its terms.
The Día de la Constitución (Constitution Day) is one of Mexico's annual Fiestas Patrias or public holidays, commemorating the promulgation of the Constitution. Although the anniversary is on February 5, the official holiday takes place on the first Monday of February, regardless the date.
Articles of the Constitution
Most of the original articles are still in force but have been heavily amended.
Among the most frequently cited articles of the Constitution are Articles 3, 27, 123 and 130.
Article 3 covers the matter of education in Mexico, and its main principle is that all of the education financed by the state is to be free and non-religious.
Article 27 states that all of the land in the country is originally the property of the nation, which can grant control over it to private citizens, albeit with certain restrictions – for instance, foreign citizens cannot own land within 100 km of the borders or 50 km of the sea, that an area of land next to the coast is federal property which cannot be sold to particulars, and that only the nation may control, extract, and process petroleum and its derivatives.
Article 123 covers the rights of workers, including the eight-hour work day, the right to strike, the right to a day's rest per week, and the right to a proper indemnization following unjustified termination of the working relationship by the employer.
Article 130 states that Church and State are to remain separate. It provides for the obligatory state registration of all "churches and religious groupings" and places a series of restrictions on priests and ministers of all religions (ineligible to hold public office, to canvas on behalf of political parties or candidates, to inherit from persons other than close blood relatives, etc.).
Other articles
Article 18 makes provisions relating to arrest and imprisonment. The Article's emphasis on "social readjustment of the offender" was interpreted for a time after 2001 as forbidding sentences of life imprisonment, which led to the refusal of some extradition requests from the United States.
See also
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