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 1917 Constitution of Mexico is the present constitution of Mexico. Since declaring independence in 1810, Mexico has adopted a number of constitutions or other documents of basic law with constitutional effects. ...

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. Santiago de Querétaro is the capital city of the state of Querétaro, Mexico. ... The Mexican Revolution was a violent social and cultural movement, colored by socialist, nationalist, and anarchist tendencies that began with the popular rejection of dictator Porfirio Díaz Mori in 1910 and culminated in the promulgation of a new constitution seven years later. ... February 5 is the 36th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1917 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Venustiano Carranza Garza (29 December 1859 - 21 May 1920) was one of the leaders of the Mexican Revolution. ... Seal of the Office of the President of Mexico The President of United Mexican States is the head of state of Mexico. ...

The Día de la Constitución (Constitution Day) on February 5 is one of Mexico's annual Fiestas Patrias or public holidays, commemorating the promulgation of the Constitution. February 5 is the 36th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Fiestas Patrias is a Spanish phrase meaning National Holidays. Mexico Mexicos fiestas patrias originated in the 19th century. ... Holidays and celebrations in Mexico: See also Fiestas Patrias Categories: Public holidays by country ...

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 given by the state is to be free and nonreligious. Gratis versus Libre is the distinction between no cost and freedom, a distiction not made by the word free. ... Secularism means: in philosophy, the belief that life can be best lived by applying ethics, and the universe best understood, by processes of reasoning, without reference to a god or gods or other supernatural concepts. ...

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 separated. 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.).

The Article 18 crisis

From the perspective of legal scholars in countries where life imprisonment is an accepted penalty, the 18th article, covering the rights of the accused and the guilty, has a troubling aspect: it recognizes only "social readaptation" (what most people would call rehabilitation) as the primary goal of incarceration. This view of incarceration (shared by most European countries) conflicts with other countries' views (including the United States) where accepted reasons for incarcerating criminals include retribution, deterrence and segregation from the general population. Life imprisonment is a term used for a particular kind of sentence of imprisonment. ... Rehabilitation is the restoration of lost capabilities, or the treatment aimed at producing it. ... A prison is a place in which people are confined and deprived of a range of liberties. ... World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... Retributive justice is a theory of criminal justice wherein punishments are justified on the grounds that the criminal has created an imbalance in the social order that must be addressed by action against the criminal. ... Deterrence ALOHA!! is a means of controlling a persons behavior through negative motivational influences, namely fear of punishment. ... Segregation means separation. ...

The reason Article 18 has become an object of concern for these countries, notably the United States, is that the Supreme Court ruled in October 2001 that life imprisonment constitutes cruel and unusual punishment within the meaning of Article 22, partially because it fails to allow for the possibility of rehabilitation as required by Article 18. In turn, Mexico will not allow criminal suspects to be extradited unless the receiving country can guarantee that the defendant will not receive a life sentence. But that can be difficult, since most U.S. states provide for life sentences for the felonies for which they will go to the trouble of pursuing extradition proceedings. So, the extradition of defendants in this situation isn't allowed unless a non life sentence is guaranteed. 2001 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December Films: October 5 - Joy Ride October 19 - From Hell See also 2001#October. ... Life imprisonment is a term used for a particular kind of sentence of imprisonment. ...

See also

• Politics of Mexico

The 1917 Constitution of Mexico provides for a federal republic with powers separated into independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches. ...

External links

• The original text (http://constitucion.rediris.es/principal/constituciones-mexico1917.htm) (Spanish)
• The present Constitution (http://www.cddhcu.gob.mx/leyinfo/txt/1.txt) (Spanish)
• The present Constitution (http://www.ilstu.edu/class/hist263/docs/1917const.html) (English)