Day of the Constitution (February 5th)
By NÔMADE CINEMA
Photography by MEDIATECA DE GUERRERO
Reading Time: 2 minutes
The Political Constitution of the United Mexican States is the Magna Carta currently in force in Mexico. It is the political and legal framework for the organization and relationship of the federal government with the States of Mexico, the citizens and all the people who live or visit the country. The current Constitution is a contribution of the Mexican legal tradition to universal constitutionalism, since it was the first constitution in history to include social rights, two years before the Weimar Constitution of 1919.
The Political Constitution of the United Mexican States was promulgated in the theater of the Republic of the City of Queretaro by the then president Venustiano Carranza Garza, on February 5, 1917, and is the most important document that originated as a result of the struggle Revolutionary of 1910, in which the demands that gave rise to the Mexican Revolution were considered.
The principles and objectives of the Nation are embodied in it. It establishes the existence of bodies of authority, their powers and limitations, as well as the rights and obligations of individuals and the ways to make them effective. The constitution is made up of the following sections:
- Individual guarantees.
- National sovereignty and the form of government.
- Division of powers.
- Responsibilities of public officials and state assets.
- States of federation, work and social security.
- General preventions.
- Constitutional reforms.
- Inviolability of the constitution.
The constitution is fundamental in the state since it establishes the rights and obligations of citizens and rulers.
Background
- On March 18, 1812, the first constitution in our country was promulgated, although this letter did not have a section on human rights, these were scattered.
- In 1814 the Apatzingan constitution was promulgated and was officially titled as a constitutional decree for the freedom of Mexican America, promoted by Jose Maria Morelos.
- The 1824 constitution talks about the environment of the organization and division of state power.
- In 1836 the seven constitutional laws emerged and were implemented when Antonio López de Santa Anna assumed power in Mexico and in this there was a section for rights.
- In 1847 the constitutional validity of the year 1824 of a federalist nature was declared again and the constitutive act promoted by Mariano Otero was added.
- The constitution of 1857 was signed by Ignacio Comonfort on February 5, 1857.
Although the Constitution is formally the same, its content has been amended more than 200 times and is very different from the original of 1917. Among the changes with respect to the Constitution of 1857, are the elimination of the reelection of the President of the Republic and the position of vice president. It has 136 articles and 19 transitory articles.