Mexican States Estados Mexicanos (Spanish) | |
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Category | Federated state |
Location | United Mexican States |
Number | 32 (31 states and Mexico City) |
Populations | Smallest:
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Areas | Smallest:
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Mexicoportal |
The United Mexican States (Spanish : Estados Unidos Mexicanos) is a federal republic composed of 32 federal entities: 31 states [1] and Mexico City, an autonomous entity. According to the Constitution of 1917, the states of the federation are free and sovereign in all matters concerning their internal affairs. [2] Each state has its own congress and constitution.
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The states of the Mexican Federation are free, sovereign, autonomous and independent of each other. They are free to govern themselves according to their own laws; each state has a constitution that cannot contradict the federal constitution, which covers issues of national competence. The states cannot make alliances with other states or any independent nation without the consent of the whole federation, except those related to defense and security arrangements necessary to keep the border states secure in the event of an invasion. The political organization of each state is based on a separation of powers in a congressional system: legislative power is vested in a unicameral congress (the federal congress has two chambers), executive power is independent of the legislature and vested in a governor elected by universal suffrage, and judicial power is vested in a Superior Court of Justice. Since the states have legal autonomy, each has its own civil and penal codes and judicial body.
In the Congress of the Union, the federative entities (the states) are each represented by three senators. Two are elected by universal suffrage on the principle of relative majority and one is assigned to the party that obtains the largest minority. In addition, the federation makes up a constituency in which 32 senators are elected by the method of proportional representation. Federal Deputies, however, do not represent the states, but rather the citizens themselves. The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate together comprise the Congress of the Union.
The states are internally divided into municipalities. Each municipality is autonomous in its ability to elect its own council. A council is headed by a mayor who is elected every three years. Each municipality has a council composed of councilors in terms of population size. In most cases, the council is responsible for providing all utilities required for its population. This concept, which arises from the Mexican Revolution, is known as a "free municipality". As of March 2024, there are 2,476 municipalities in Mexico. [3] The state with the highest number of municipalities is Oaxaca, with 570, and the state with the lowest number is Baja California Sur, with only five. [4]
Mexico City is the capital of the United Mexican States. It had special status as a federal district until January 2016 and was originally called Distrito Federal.
Mexico City was separated from the State of Mexico, of which it was the capital, on November 18, 1824, to become the capital of the federation. As such, it belonged not to any state in particular but to all of them and to the federation. Therefore, the president of Mexico, who represented the federation, designated its head of government, previously referred to as the regent (regente) or head of department (jefe del departamento). However, the Federal District received more autonomy in 1997, and its citizens were then able to elect their chief of government for the first time.
In 2016, the Mexican Congress approved a constitutional reform eliminating the federal district and establishing Mexico City as a fully autonomous entity on par with the states. [5] [6] However, unlike the other states of the Union, it would receive funds for education and health. When full autonomy was granted, Mexico City adopted its own constitution (it previously had only an organic law, the Statute of Autonomy) and its boroughs expanded their local government powers. [7]
Mexico City is divided into 16 boroughs, officially designated as demarcaciones territoriales or colloquially known as alcaldías in Spanish. Headed by a mayor, these boroughs kept the same territory and name as the former delegaciones. [8]
Name of federative entity | Conventional abbreviation | 2-letter code* | 3-letter code (ISO 3166-2:MX) |
---|---|---|---|
Aguascalientes | Ags. | MX - AG | MX-AGU |
Baja California | B.C. | MX - BN | MX-BCN |
Baja California Sur | B.C.S. | MX - BS | MX-BCS |
Campeche | Camp. | MX - CP | MX-CAM |
Chiapas | Chis. | MX - CS | MX-CHP |
Chihuahua | Chih. | MX - CI | MX-CHH |
Coahuila | Coah. | MX - CH | MX-COA |
Colima | Col. | MX - CL | MX-COL |
Mexico City | CDMX | MX - DF | MX-CMX |
Durango | Dgo. | MX - DG | MX-DUR |
Guanajuato | Gto. | MX - GJ | MX-GUA |
Guerrero | Gro. | MX - GE | MX-GRO |
Hidalgo | Hgo. | MX - HD | MX-HID |
Jalisco | Jal. | MX - JA | MX-JAL |
México | Edomex. or Méx. | MX - MX | MX-MEX |
Michoacán | Mich. | MX - MC | MX-MIC |
Morelos | Mor. | MX - MR | MX-MOR |
Nayarit | Nay. | MX - NA | MX-NAY |
Nuevo León | N.L. | MX - NL | MX-NLE |
Oaxaca | Oax. | MX - OA | MX-OAX |
Puebla | Pue. | MX - PU | MX-PUE |
Querétaro | Qro. | MX - QE | MX-QUE |
Quintana Roo | Q. Roo. or Q.R. | MX - QI | MX-ROO |
San Luis Potosí | S.L.P. | MX - SL | MX-SLP |
Sinaloa | Sin. | MX - SI | MX-SIN |
Sonora | Son. | MX - SO | MX-SON |
Tabasco | Tab. | MX - TB | MX-TAB |
Tamaulipas | Tamps. | MX - TA | MX-TAM |
Tlaxcala | Tlax. | MX - TL | MX-TLA |
Veracruz | Ver. | MX - VC | MX-VER |
Yucatán | Yuc. | MX - YU | MX-YUC |
Zacatecas | Zac. | MX - ZA | MX-ZAC |
*Mexico's post agency, Correos de México, does not offer an official list. Various competing commercially devised lists exist. The list here reflects choices among them according to these sources.
On September 27, 1821, after three centuries of Spanish rule, Mexico gained independence. The Treaty of Córdoba recognized part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain as an Independent Empire – "monarchist, constitutional and moderate". [9] The new country named itself the Mexican Empire. The morning after the Army of the Three Guarantees entered Mexico City on September 28, 1821, Agustín de Iturbide ordered the Supreme Provisional Governmental Junta (September 1821 – February 1822) to meet to elect a president of the Imperial Regency and to issue a declaration of independence for the new nation. Iturbide was elected president of the Regency, and that afternoon the members of the Regency and the Supreme Junta signed the Declaration.
A minority of the Constituent Congress, looking for stability, elected Agustín de Iturbide as emperor. On July 21, 1822, Iturbide was crowned Emperor of Mexico. [10] However, the Constitutional Empire quickly demonstrated the incompatibility of its two main parts: the Emperor and the Constituent Congress. The deputies were imprisoned just for expressing their opinions, and eventually Iturbide decided to dissolve the Congress and instead establish a National Board. [11]
The lack of a legitimate legislature, the illegitimacy of the Emperor, and the absence of real solutions to the nation's problems increased revolutionary activity. [12] Antonio López de Santa Anna proclaimed the Plan of Casa Mata, to which later joined Vicente Guerrero and Nicolás Bravo. Iturbide was forced to reestablish the Congress and, in a vain attempt to save the order and keep the situation favorable to his supporters, he abdicated the crown of the empire on March 19, 1823. [13]
Congress nullified the designation of Iturbide and therefore the recognition of the abdication. It deemed the coronation of Iturbide to have been a logical mistake in consummation of Independence. [13] The dissolution of the Empire was the first political realignment of independent Mexico.
After the fall of the Empire, a triumvirate called the Supreme Executive Power was created. The provisional government created the Federal Republic, and it was in effect from April 1, 1823, to October 10, 1824. [14]
Unrest in the provinces was widespread. On May 21, 1823, The Founding Plan of the Federal Republic was enacted. Its sixth article stated, "The component parts of the Republic are free, sovereign and independent States in that which touches internal administration and government". [15] Most of the Free States, which were invited to form the Federal Republic, joined the Union, except for the five Central American provinces, the former Captaincy General of Guatemala, which formed their own Federal Republic. [16]
On January 31, 1824, the decree to create a Constitutive Act of the Mexican Federation was issued, which incorporated the basic structure of the Federal Republic. It was determined that the criteria for inviting states to the federation should be that they "...not be so few that through expansion and wealth in a few years they be able to aspire to constitute themselves as independent nations, breaking the federal bond, nor so many that through lack of manpower and resources the system should come to be unworkable." [17]
Between 1823 and 1824, some of the Free States created their own constitutions, and others had already installed a Constituent Congress. Special cases were those of Yucatán, which on December 23, 1823, decided to join the federation but as a Federated Republic, and Chiapas, which decided by referendum to join the federation on September 14, 1824. [18]
On October 4, 1824, the Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1824 was enacted. The constitution officially created the United Mexican States. The country was composed of 19 states and 4 federal territories. [19] After the publication of the constitution, on November 18, the Federal District was created. [20] On November 24, Tlaxcala, which had retained a special status since the colonial era, was incorporated as a territory. [21]
On October 10, 1824, Guadalupe Victoria took office as the first President of Mexico. [22]
The political structure of the Republic was amended by a decree on October 3, 1835, when the centralist system was established.
The constituent states of the Republic lost their freedom, autonomy, independence, and sovereignty by being totally subordinated to the central government. However, the territorial division itself was the same, as the text of Article 8 of the Law determined: The national territory is divided into departments, on the basis of population, location and other leading circumstances: its number, extension and subdivisions, would be detailed by constitutional law. [23]
The Seven Constitutional Laws (Spanish : Siete Leyes Constitucionales) were promulgated on December 30, 1836. [24] The 1st article confirmed the decree of the law October 3, 1835; the Republic would be divided into departments, these in districts and the districts in parties. The 2nd article posited that the division of the Republic into departments would be under a special law with constitutional character. [25] On December 30, 1835, a transitory decree was added to the Seven Laws. The decree stated that the territory of Tlaxcala and the Federal District would become a part of the Department of Mexico. The territories of Alta and Baja California would form the department of the Californias. Coahuila y Tejas would be divided into two departments. Colima would form part of Michoacán, and Aguascalientes would be declared a department.
This period of political instability caused several conflicts between the central government and the entities of the country, and there were rebellions in several states: [26]
On September 11, 1842, the region of Soconusco joined Mexico as part of the department of Chiapas.
The Federal Republic was restored by the interim president José Mariano Salas on August 22, 1846. The state of Guerrero was provisionally erected in 1849, on the condition that it be approved by the legislatures of the states of México, Puebla and Michoacán, whose territories would be affected.
On February 5, 1857, the Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857 was enacted. In 1864, however, after the French intervention, the conservative Mexicans restored the constitutional monarchy, known as the Second Mexican Empire, led by the emperor Maximilian of Habsburg and supported by the French army of Napoleon III. The Empire was deposed in 1867 by the republican forces of Benito Juárez and the Federal Republic was restored again under the Constitution of 1857.
The Political Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1917 was the result of the Mexican Revolution. The third Constitution of Mexico confirmed the federal system of government that is currently in effect. [27]
Guadalupe Victoria, born José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix, was a Mexican general and politician who fought for independence against the Spanish Empire in the Mexican War of Independence and after the adoption of the Constitution of 1824, was elected as the first president of the United Mexican States. He was a deputy in the Mexican Chamber of Deputies for Durango and a member of the Supreme Executive Power following the downfall of the First Mexican Empire, which was followed by the 1824 Constitution and his presidency. He later served as Governor of Puebla.
Yucatán is a state in southeastern Mexico that is divided into 106 municipalities, organized into 7 administrative regions. According to the 2020 Mexican census, it is the twenty-second most populated state with 2,320,898 inhabitants and the 20th largest by land area spanning 39,524.4 square kilometres (15,260.5 sq mi).
The Mexican Empire was a constitutional monarchy, the first independent government of Mexico and the only former viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after independence. It lasted for 2 years from 1821 to 1823. It is one of the few modern-era, independent monarchies that have existed in the Americas, along with the 67-year Empire of Brazil (1822–1889) and the 2-year First Empire of Haiti (1804–1806).
Tlaxcala is a state in Central Mexico that is divided into 60 municipalities. According to the 2020 Mexican census, it is the fifth least populated state with 1,342,977 inhabitants and the 2nd smallest by land area spanning 3,996.6 square kilometres (1,543.1 sq mi).
Colima is a state in West Mexico that is divided into ten municipalities. According to the 2020 Mexican census, it has the smallest population of all Mexico's states with 731,391 inhabitants, and is the fifth smallest by land area spanning 5,801.75 square kilometres (2,240.07 sq mi).
Guanajuato is a state in North Central Mexico that is divided into 46 municipalities. According to the 2020 Mexican census, Guanajuato is the sixth most populous state with 6,166,934 inhabitants and the 22nd largest by land area spanning 30,691.61 square kilometres (11,850.10 sq mi).
The Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1824 was the first constitution of Mexico, enacted on October 4 of 1824, inaugurating the First Mexican Republic.
Don Miguel Ramos Arizpe was a Mexican priest and politician, and known as "the father of Mexican federalism."
Several hypotheses seek to explain the etymology of Mexico which dates, at least, back to 14th century Mesoamerica. Among these are expressions in the Nahuatl language like "Place in the middle of the century plant" (Mexitli) and "Place in the Navel of the Moon" (Mēxihco), although there is still no consensus among experts.
Mexico has experienced many changes in territorial organization during its history as an independent state. The territorial boundaries of Mexico were affected by presidential and imperial decrees. One such decree was the Law of Bases for the Convocation of the Constituent Congress to the Constitutive Act of the Mexican Federation, which determined the national land area as the result of integration of the jurisdictions that corresponded to New Spain, the Captaincy General of Yucatán, the Captaincy General of Guatemala and the autonomous Kingdoms of East and West. The decree resulted in the independence from Spain.
Mexico uses four time zones:
The Republic of Yucatán was a sovereign state during two periods of the nineteenth century. The first Republic of Yucatán, founded May 29, 1823, willingly joined the Mexican federation as the Federated Republic of Yucatán on December 23, 1823, less than seven months later. The second Republic of Yucatán began in 1841, with its declaration of independence from the Centralist Republic of Mexico. It remained independent for seven years, after which it rejoined the United Mexican States. The area of the former republic includes the modern Mexican states of Yucatán, Campeche and Quintana Roo. The Republic of Yucatán usually refers to the second republic (1841–1848).
The First Mexican Republic, known also as the First Federal Republic, existed from 1824 to 1835. It was a federated republic, established by the Constitution of 1824, the first constitution of independent Mexico, and officially designated the United Mexican States. It ended in 1835, when conservatives under Antonio López de Santa Anna transformed it into a unitary state, the Centralist Republic of Mexico.
The Political Constitution of the Mexican Republic of 1857, often called simply the Constitution of 1857, was the liberal constitution promulgated in 1857 by Constituent Congress of Mexico during the presidency of Ignacio Comonfort. Ratified on February 5, 1857, the constitution established individual rights, including universal male suffrage, and others such as freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the right to bear arms. It also reaffirmed the abolition of slavery, debtors' prisons, and all forms of cruel and unusual punishment such as the death penalty. The constitution was designed to guarantee a limited central government by federalism and created a strong national congress, an independent judiciary, and a small executive to prevent a dictatorship. Liberal ideals meant the constitution emphasized private property of individuals and sought to abolish common ownership by corporate entities, mainly the Catholic Church and indigenous communities, incorporating the legal thrust of the Lerdo Law into the constitution.
The Political Constitution of the State of Yucatán is the constitution which legally governs the free and sovereign state of Yucatán, one of 31 states with the Federal District comprise the 32 federative entities of the United Mexican States. It was drafted by the Constituent Congress of State, chaired by Héctor Victoria Aguilar in 1918 and promulgated by General Salvador Alvarado, pre-constitutional governor of Yucatán. The most important reforms were made in 1938, although its text has been revised and partially renovated over the 20th century and continues to be reformed so far.
The Supreme Executive Power was the provisional government of Mexico that governed between the fall of the First Mexican Empire in April 1823 and the election of the first Mexican president, Guadalupe Victoria, in October 1824. After Emperor Iturbide abdicated, the sovereignty of the nation passed over to Congress, which appointed a triumvirate, made up of Guadalupe Victoria, Pedro Celestino Negrete, and Nicolas Bravo, to serve as the executive, while a new constitution was being written.
Francisco Manuel Sánchez de Tagle (1809-1847) was a Mexican poet, writer, and conservative statesman.
The Colima Territory was a federal territory of Mexico that existed between 1824 and 1857, when it was granted statehood within the United Mexican States as Colima.
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