The elections this year are one month earlier than usual. The reason is that the change of administration will take place on October 1st, when in the past the elections were held in July and the handover of power took place on December 1st.

Mexico’s political architecture

Mexico’s political structure is formed through a republic of 32 states inside a union bound by a common constitution.  Mexico’s republic used to comprise 31 states and a Federal District (Mexico City), although constitutional changes in 2016 transformed Mexico City into a state in its own right.

The Mexican federal government comprises an executive branch, a bicameral congress composed of a Senate in the upper house, a lower Chamber of Deputies, and an independent judiciary, headed by a Supreme Court.

Mexican states have their own constitutions; however, the states’ constitutions cannot contradict the federal constitution, and state governance must adhere to a republican congressional system, headed by a state governor.

Terms limits in public office

The elected president serves as the head of the executive branch, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The president is elected for a non-renewable six-year term.

Each state governor is directly elected in the state they represent, and may not hold office for more than six years.

Congressional Representatives are elected for three-year terms in the case of the lower house and six years in the case of the Senate.

Mexican political candidates contest seats in a single-round plurality vote, sometimes referred to as a ‘relative majority.’  This means that the winning candidate is the one who polls more votes than any other in the contest, even if the sum of those votes does not muster a majority.

Three candidates running for president

The main interest in June’s elections is the presidential race, in which there are three candidates:

• Claudia Sheinbaum for the ruling Morena party, along with the small Workers Party (PT) and Green Party (PVEM).
• Xóchitl Gálvez is running for a coalition of the PRI, PAN, and PRD parties.
• Jorge Álvarez Máynez is the candidate for the smaller Citizens Movement party.

With less than a month to go before election day on June 2nd, Sheinbaum is leading in the polls, followed by Gálvez, with Álvarez Máynez a distant third.

Voting, and the transition period

Around 98.4 million people are eligible to vote in Mexico, and an additional 675,000 Mexicans living abroad are also being encouraged to cast their vote. Results of the election are expected to be known the same day as the voting.

Some time after polls have closed in Baja California, which is two hours behind Mexico City, the country’s electoral institute is expected to release the results of its quick count based on a nationwide sample of results from polling places.

This is not an exit poll, and in the past the institute’s quick counts have always been close to the final results. If the margin of victory of any one candidate is big enough, the institute will virtually announce the winner.

If not, it will wait until results are in from all polling places. The results are posted online as they come in, so by the early hours of Monday, June 3rd, a high percentage of results is available.

Historically, Mexico’s elections took place in July, and the incumbent administration would handover power on December 1st that year, and that was marked with a national holiday every six years. Political reforms intended to reduce the length of the “transition period” moved the election date to June, and changed the handover date to October 1st—effectively reducing the transition period by from five months, to four months.

In making the changes, legislators thought the May 1 Labor Day holiday too important to be moved, since it’s also observed internationally; and the September 16 Independence Day holiday was never even considered a candidate.

Three dates were chosen for long-weekend holidays in Mexico

The three dates chosen by legislators for commemoration with long-weekend holidays are:

• the February 5th holiday, commemorating the 1917 Constitution, moved to the first Monday in the month—which is usually the day after the Super Bowl in the U.S., thus convenient for American Football fans, of which there are many in Mexico;
• the March 21st holiday, marking the birth of 19th century president Benito Juárez shifted to the third Monday in March; and
• the November 20th holiday, marking the start of the 1910-1917 Revolution which is now observed on the third Monday in November.

The ‘bank holiday Monday’ concept has advantages and disadvantages

On the one hand, it guarantees at least three long weekends each year even if the historical dates fall on a weekend or in the middle of the week, increasing the practicalities for travel and stimulating domestic tourism.

Colonial towns and cities within an easy drive of the capital have been notable beneficiaries of this, as chilangos like to use the long weekends to escape from their frenetic routines to take some fresh air, country food, and enjoy a change of scenery.

Hotels like the long weekends as it helps them to sell more rooms, and those running AirBnBs from their home also get a fillip.

Bridges to cross

On the other hand, the long weekends have reduced the possibilities for creating “puentes,” or bridges which, for many years before the long-weekend holidays came to be, were an informal tradition linking the holiday date to the nearest weekend: the previous weekend if the holiday is on a Tuesday, and the following weekend if it’s on a Thursday. (Wednesdays were a bit more complicated.)

That literal “puente” —or bridge— to the weekend has fallen away somewhat in these modern days where time is money and squeezing an extra day’s leisure from the daily grind has a habit of showing up as a minus in the month’s high-frequency economic indicators. In response, people have taken to calling the three-day weekend bank holiday a “puente.”

From a practical perspective, Mexico’s long-weekend holidays offer an opportunity for residents to explore a new colonial town or revisit an old favorite, or take a well-earned break to the coast for some sea air and a swim in the ocean.  You’ll need to plan ahead as bus stations and airports get busy, driving on Mexico’s roads requires extra diligence (and patience), and the best accommodations tend to sell-out ahead of time at the most popular destinations.

Revolution Day and Mexico’s ‘Black Friday’ shopping event

Since 2011, the November Revolution Day long holiday weekend has been tied-in with El Buen Fin, “The Good Weekend,” a commercial endeavor set up to emulate Black Friday in the US and in the process, drive the local economy through consumption.

The Buen Fin event officially starts on the Friday and ends on the bank holiday Monday, but in practice most retailers begin to promote their sales in early November, typically after the Day of the Dead holiday.

The sales tend to lack the spectacular throwaway prices seen in the US, and many of the promotions are offered in the form of interest-free payments in partnership with Mexican credit card companies.

Nonetheless, widespread discounts on goods and services are offered, and some people here use the weekend to buy big-ticket items for their home like furniture and appliances at a worthwhile discount.

It’s also an opportunity for retailers to unload stale inventory ahead of the Christmas shopping season, which emerges in October and begins in earnest across Mexico as soon as the Halloween costumes have been packed away.

Mexico’s 1917 Constitution

Mexico’s Constitution was drafted in the colonial city of Queretaro, north of Mexico City.   It was legalized on February 5th, 1917, by the country’s Constitutional Congress. Venustiano Carranza was the first President to serve under the terms of the new constitution.

In years past, Mexico would have marked this holiday on February 5th but, in 2006, Congress approved an initiative whereby a number of official holiday dates would be observed on the nearest Monday to the official date, thus creating long holiday weekends.

100th Anniversary

2017 marked the 100th anniversary of the Constitution and to commemorate the centenary, the Bank of Mexico issued a limited edition 20-peso coin and a limited edition 100-peso banknote which are introduced here.

On the centenary of the revolution in 2010, the bank issued a 100-peso commemorative banknote for that occasion: although they remain legal tender, they are rarely if ever seen in trade now, and have become a collector’s item.

The Mexican Constitution was drafted following the Mexican Revolution, led by Francisco Madero against the dictatorial regime of Porfirio Diaz (an era known in Mexico as “El Porfiriato”), in pursuit of political and agrarian reforms, and social justice.

Although it took several years for Mexico’s political upheaval to settle-down following the revolution —and subsequent enactment of the Constitution— to this day, the document continues to influence and shape Mexico’s social, political, and economic landscape.

Land ownership in Mexico

One of the key Articles of the Mexican Constitution to come to light in recent years is Article 27—which deals with the ownership of land in Mexico. Specifically, it states, foreigners may not own land within 100 km of a land border or 50 km of a sea border.

In a bid to open up land development to foreign direct investment the administration of President Carlos Salinas de Gortari introduced ‘Land Trusts’ (fideicomisos) in the 1990s; administered by banks, they provide foreigners with title of the land in all but name.  You can learn more about property ownership in Mexico in our free eBook about real estate in Mexico.

Before this law came to pass, foreigners who bought land near the border in Mexico used a ‘presta nombre’ (borrowed name)—a Mexican national whom the buyer could trust to hold title of the land, with a gentleman’s agreement existing between the buyer and the title holder.

The 1917 Constitution was drafted quickly by a constituent assembly called by Venustiano Carranza, the head of the Constitutionalist faction during the revolution. It was promulgated on Feb. 5 of that year. Constitution Day is a national holiday, observed on the first Monday in February each year, although civic ceremonies marking the promulgation are still held on the 5th.

Among its better-known Articles, the Constitution extended restrictions on the Roman Catholic Church, stripping it of legal and property rights and denying ministers their political rights. It required that all schools be secular and banned any religious services outside of churches. Its anticlerical articles were among the most contentious, and later efforts by the government of Plutarco Elías Calles to enforce them led to the Cristero war of 1926-1929.

It provided for a major state role in the economy, including state ownership of oil and other resources, while establishing significant labor rights and land reform. It also included the restriction on foreigners from owning land along the coast or near the country’s land borders. (This followed a U.S. invasion of Veracruz during the period.)

The speed with which the constitution was drawn up and passed had to do partly with the hurry that Carranza faced to set up a legitimate government after years of civil war, and to keep down the factions that followed revolutionaries Francisco Villa and Emiliano Zapata.

The 1917 Constitution was Mexico’s third since the country gained independence from Spain in the early nineteenth century. The Constitution of 1824 declared the United Mexican States as a country free and independent of Spain. The 1857 Constitution implemented many liberal precepts, and contained some of the first restrictions on the church, but also included rights such as freedom of speech.

All three constitutions were written and promulgated during periods of unrest and political upheaval: the war of independence begun in 1810, the Reform War of 1857-1860 between liberals led by Benito Juárez and conservatives, and and the 1910-1817 revolution which followed the ouster of dictator Porfirio Díaz.

Times change, and so has the need to update the constitution.

Many of the restrictions on the church were eased in constitutional amendments made during the 1990s, which notably included amendments to enable foreign nationals to own property near coasts and borders, as well lifting some of the restraints on private investment in energy industries (the oil industry was expropriated in 1938, and electricity was nationalized in 1960). Further constitutional changes to allow foreign oil companies back into the country were made in 2013.

For 2017’s 100th anniversary of the 1917 Constitution, the Bank of Mexico issued new commemorative 100-peso bills and 20-peso coins. The government has published information related to Mexico’s constitutional history on a special section of its website.

Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM) maintains an original and current version of the Constitution and a recent translation into English, as well as updated versions of all other legislation on the legislative section of its website.