The current Constitution of Mexico, formally the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States (Spanish: Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), was drafted in Santiago de Querétaro, in the State of Querétaro, Mexico, by a constituent convention during the Mexican Revolution. It was approved by the Constituent Congress on 5 February 1917, and was later amended several times. It is the successor to the Constitution of 1857, and earlier Mexican constitutions. "The Constitution of 1917 is the legal triumph of the Mexican Revolution. To some it is the revolution."
The current Constitution of 1917 is the first such document in the world to set out social rights, preceding the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Constitution of 1918 and the Weimar Constitution of 1919. Some of the most important provisions are Articles 3, 27, and 123; adopted in response to the armed insurrection of popular classes during the Mexican Revolution, these articles display profound changes in Mexican politics that helped frame the political and social backdrop for Mexico in the twentieth century. Article 3 established the basis for free, mandatory, and secular education; Article 27 laid the foundation for land reform in Mexico; and Article 123 was designed to empower the labor sector, which had emerged in the late nineteenth century and which supported the winning faction of the Mexican Revolution.
Articles 3, 5, 24, 27, and 130 seriously restricted the Catholic Church in Mexico, and attempts to enforce the articles strictly by President Plutarco Calles (1924–1928) in 1926 led to the violent conflict known as the Cristero War.
In 1992, under the administration of Carlos Salinas de Gortari, there were significant revisions of the constitution, modifying Article 27 to strengthen private property rights, allow privatization of ejidos and end redistribution of land, and the articles restricting the Catholic Church in Mexico were largely repealed.
Constitution Day (Día de la Constitución) is one of Mexico's annual Fiestas Patrias (public holidays), commemorating the promulgation of the Constitution on 5 February 1917. The holiday is held on the first Monday of February.
The constitution was founded on seven fundamental ideals:
Supremacy of the State over the Church
The Constitution is divided into "Titles" (Títulos) which are series of articles related to the same overall theme. The Titles, of variable length, are:
Chapter I: Of Human Rights and their Guarantees (Capítulo I: de los Derechos Humanos y sus Garantías)
Chapter II: On Mexicans (Capítulo II: de los Mexicanos)
Chapter III, On Foreigners (Capítulo III: de los Extranjeros)
Chapter IV: On Mexican Citizens (Capítulo IV: de los Ciudadanos Mexicanos)
Chapter I: On National Sovereignty and Form of Government (Capítulo I, de la Soberanía Nacional y de la Forma de Gobierno)
Chapter II: On the Parts That Make Up the Federation and the National Territory (Capítulo II, de las Partes Integrantes de la Federación y del Territorio Nacional)
Chapter I: On the Separation of Powers (Capítulo I, de la División de Poderes)
Chapter II: On the Legislative Power (Capítulo II, del Poder Legislativo)
Chapter III: On the Executive Power (Capítulo III, del Poder Ejecutivo)
Chapter IV: On the Judicial Power (Capítulo IV, del Poder Judicial)