Mexico - Government
Based on the etymolgy of Mexico, it was named after the capital city, whose name stems from the Mexica, the largest and most powerful branch of the Aztecs; the meaning of the name is uncertain. The Government system in this country is the federal presidential republic type and the different Administrative divisions includes: 32 states (estados, singular - estado); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Cuidad de Mexico, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatan, Zacatecas
National symbols
Golden eagle, dahlia; national colors: green, white, red.
The flag
The National flag of Mexico has three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; Mexico's coat of arms (an eagle with a snake in its beak perched on a cactus) is centered in the white band; green signifies hope, joy, and love; white represents peace and honesty; red stands for hardiness, bravery, strength, and valor; the coat of arms is derived from a legend that the wandering Aztec people were to settle at a location where they would see an eagle on a cactus eating a snake; the city they founded, Tenochtitlan, is now Mexico City.
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note: similar to the flag of Italy, which is shorter, uses lighter shades of green and red, and does not display anything in its white band
The National Anthem
| Title | "Himno Nacional Mexicano" (National Anthem of Mexico) |
|---|---|
| Lyric/music | Francisco Gonzalez BOCANEGRA/Jaime Nuno ROCA |
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note: adopted 1943, in use since 1854; also known as "Mexicanos, al grito de Guerra" (Mexicans, to the War Cry); according to tradition, Francisco Gonzalez BOCANEGRA, an accomplished poet, was uninterested in submitting lyrics to a national anthem contest; his fiancee locked him in a room and refused to release him until the lyrics were completed
More about the government of Mexico
| Date of Independence | 16 September 1810 (declared independence from Spain); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain) |
|---|---|
| National holiday | Independence Day, 16 September (1810) |
| Legal system | civil law system with US constitutional law influence; judicial review of legislative acts |
| International law organization participation | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| Constitution | |
| History | Several previous; latest approved 5 February 1917 |
| Amendments | Proposed by the Congress of the Union; passage requires approval by at least two thirds of the members present and approval by a majority of the state legislatures; amended many times, last in 2020 |
| Citizenship | |
| Citizenship by birth | yes |
| Citizenship by descent only | yes |
| Dual citizenship recognized | not specified |
| Residency requirement for naturalization | 5 years |
| Executive Branch | |
| Chief of state | President Andrés Manuel LÓPEZ OBRADOR (since 1 December 2018) |
| Head of government | President Andrés Manuel LÓPEZ OBRADOR (since 1 December 2018) |
| Cabinet | Cabinet appointed by the president |
| Elections/appointments | president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a single 6-year term; election last held on 2 June 2024 (next to be held in 2030) |
| Election results | 2024: Claudia SHEINBAUM Pardo elected president; percent of vote - Claudia SHEINBAUM Pardo (MORENA) 59.4%, Xóchitl GÁLVEZ Ruiz (PAN) 27.9%, Jorge Álvarez MÁYNEZ (MC) 10.4%, other 2.3%; note - SHEINBAUM will take office 1 October 2024 2018: Andrés Manuel LÓPEZ OBRADOR elected president; percent of vote - Andrés Manuel LÓPEZ OBRADOR (MORENA) 53.2%, Ricardo ANAYA Cortés (PAN) 22.3%, José Antonio MEADE Kuribreña (PRI) 16.4%, Jaime RODRÍGUEZ Calderón 5.2% (independent), other 2.9% 2012: Enrique PEÑA NIETO elected president; percent of vote - Enrique PEÑA NIETO (PRI) 38.2%, Andrés Manuel LÓPEZ OBRADOR (PRD) 31.6%, Josefina Eugenia VÁZQUEZ Mota (PAN) 25.4%, other 4.8% |
| Legislative branch | |
| Description | bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Unión consists of: |
| Elections | Senate - last held on 2 June 2024 (next to be held in 2030) Chamber of Deputies - last held on 2 June 2024 (next to be held in 2027) |
| Election results | Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; note - awaiting official results from the 2 June 2024 election Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; note - awaiting official results from the 2 June 2024 election |
| Judicial branch | |
| Highest court(s) | Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (consists of the chief justice and 11 justices and organized into civil, criminal, administrative, and labor panels) and the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (organized into the superior court, with 7 judges including the court president, and 5 regional courts, each with 3 judges) |
| Judge selection and term of office | Supreme Court justices nominated by the president of the republic and approved by two-thirds vote of the members present in the Senate; justices serve 15-year terms; Electoral Tribunal superior and regional court judges nominated by the Supreme Court and elected by two-thirds vote of members present in the Senate; superior court president elected from among its members to hold office for a 4-year term; other judges of the superior and regional courts serve staggered, 9-year terms |
| Subordinate courts | Federal level includes circuit, collegiate, and unitary courts; state and district level courts |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | |
| Chief of mission | Ambassador Esteban MOCTEZUMA Barragán (since 20 April 2021) |
| Chancery | 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 |
| Telephone | [1] (202) 728-1600 |
| FAX | [1] (202) 728-1698 |
| Email address and website | [email protected] https://embamex.sre.gob.mx/eua/index.php/en/ |
| Consulate(s) general | Atlanta (GA), Austin (TX), Boston (MA), Chicago (IL), Dallas (TX), Denver (GA), El Paso (TX), Houston (TX), Laredo (TX), Miami (FL), New York (NY), Nogales (AZ), Phoenix (AZ), Raleigh (NC), Sacramento (CA), San Antonio (TX), San Diego (CA), San Francisco (CA), San Jose (CA), San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
| Consulate(s) | Albuquerque (NM), Boise (ID), Brownsville (TX), Calexico (CA), Del Rio (TX), Detroit (MI), Douglas (AZ), Eagle Pass (TX), Fresno (CA), Indianapolis (IN), Kansas City (MO), Las Vegas (NV), Little Rock (AR), Los Angeles (CA), McAllen (TX), Milwaukee (WI), New Orleans (LA), Oklahoma City (OK), Omaha (NE), Orlando (FL), Oxnard (CA), Philadelphia (PA), Portland (OR), Presidio (TX), Salt Lake City (UT), San Bernardino (CA), Santa Ana (CA), Seattle (WA), St. Paul (MN), Tucson (AZ), Yuma (AZ) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | |
| Chief of mission | Ambassador Ken SALAZAR (since 14 September 2021) |
| Embassy | Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtémoc, 06500 Mexico, CDMX |
| Mailing address | 8700 Mexico City Place, Washington DC 20521-8700 |
| Telephone | (011) [52]-55-5080-2000 |
| FAX | (011) 52-55-5080-2005 |
| Email address and website | [email protected] https://mx.usembassy.gov/ |
| Consulate(s) general | Ciudad Juárez, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Matamoros, Mérida, Monterrey, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, Tijuana |
| National heritage | |
| Total World Heritage Sites | 35 (27 cultural, 6 natural, 2 mixed) |
| Selected World Heritage Site locales | Historic Mexico City (c); Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatepetl (c); Teotihuacan (c); Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino (n); Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (n); Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley (m); Historic Puebla (c); El Tajin (c); Historic Tlacotalpan (c); Historic Oaxaca and Monte Albán (c); Palenque (c); Chichen-Itza (c); Uxmal (c) |
Key Political parties and their leaders in Mexico
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International organization participation
All Important Facts about Mexico
Want to know more about Mexico? Check all different factbooks for Mexico below.
