Mexican Constitution Day (07/02)

Mexican Public Holiday — Constitution Day (Día de la Constitución/Constitution Day in Mexico) — in honor of the adoption of the Constitutions of 1857 and 1917 — is celebrated in the country on the first Monday of February.

Historically, Mexico had three basic laws: the Constitution of 1824 established a federal system, modeled on the United States federal system; the Constitution of 1857 granted many political and civil rights; and finally, the current Constitution, proclaimed on February 5, 1917, retained a liberal democratic character, but also contained revolutionary provisions.

Under the 1917 Constitution, officials of all major political organizations were disqualified from re-election for a second term, and the Constitution largely strengthened the executive branch.

The new Mexican Constitution was the main result of the revolution. One of the leaders of the Mexican revolution, Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (1859—1920), who remained the winner, gave the reforms promised in his revolutionary decrees the force of law. The text of the document mainly repeated the provisions of the 1857 constitution, but added three fundamentally important articles to them.

Article 3 provided for the introduction of universal free primary education; Article 27 declared all lands, waters and subsoil in Mexico national property, and also declared the need to divide large latifundia and established the principles and procedure for agrarian reform; Article 123 included basic labor provisions, including the establishment of an eight-hour working day, the prohibition of child labor, and the protection of women's labor rights.

Mexico consists of 31 states and one federal district. The Constitution has given states powers that the central power does not have, although in practice Mexican states have limited real power.

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