Constitution:
5 February 1917
Legal system:
mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial
review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December
2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government
head of government: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December
2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of
attorney general requires consent of the Senate
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term;
election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held 2 July 2006)
election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected president; percent of
vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa
(PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74%
Legislative branch:
bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the
Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by popular
vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of
each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or
Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly
elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200
members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote,
also for three-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2000 for all of the seats (next
to be held 2 July 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 6 July 2003
(next to be held 2 July 2006)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party - PRI 60, PAN 46, PRD 16, PVEM 5, unassigned 1; Chamber of
Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 222,
PAN 151, PRD 95, PVEM 17, PT 6, CD 5, unassigned 4; note - special
elections were held in December 2003; the PRI and the PRD each won
one seat and were each assigned one additional proportional
representation seat
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia Nacional
(justices or ministros are appointed by the president with consent
of the Senate)
Political parties and leaders:
Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro];
Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Roberto MADRAZO Pintado];
Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ
Martinez]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO Mena];
Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Leonel GODOY]; Workers
Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX;
Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of
Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of
Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business
Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods and
Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries
or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Union
of Workers or UNT; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or
CROM; Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants or CROC;
Roman Catholic Church
International organization participation:
APEC, BCIE, BIS, CDB, CE (observer), EBRD, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-15,
G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW,
PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UPU,
WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Carlos Alberto de ICAZA
Gonzalez
chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006
telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600
FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas,
Denver, El Paso, Houston, Laredo (Texas), Los Angeles, Miami, New
Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Phoenix, Sacramento, San
Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico
(California), Corpus Christi (Texas), Del Rio (Texas), Detroit,
Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California),
Indianapolis (Indiana), Kansas City (Missouri), Las Vegas, McAllen
(Texas), Midland (Texas), Omaha, Orlando, Oxnard (California),
Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, Salt
Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson,
Yuma (Arizona)