February 5, 2011

Mexican Constitution Day

On this date in 1917, Mexico’s Constitutional Congress approved a new Political Constitution of the Mexican United States. It is similar in many ways to the Constitution of the United States of America, but it is the first constitution in the world to set out social rights. Creating a list of banned books was prohibited, and free secular education was established. Land reform and labor rights were spelled out. In an effort to keep religion and government separate, some religious freedoms were restricted; many presidents chose not to strongly enforce these anti-clerical articles, and by 1992 most of them were removed.

A Constitution is a Plan

It’s like a written blueprint for the basic structures of government, and the powers of and restrictions on each governmental structure.

A Constitution is a Promise

Most written constitutions also include a list of rights of the people that are guaranteed. Mexico’s constitution, for example, outlaws slavery, the death sentence, and bigotry. It guarantees equal protection under the law and specifies that people have a right to protection of their health and to housing. There are many other articles that speak to people’s rights and societal standards.

Learn more…

The Constitution was influenced by the Mexican Revolution. Learn more about the revolution through the work of five artists with the Arts Edge website.

Did you know…

Many Mexican children learn all or many of the state names of the United States of America–but most U.S. kids don’t even know that Mexico has states, let alone the names of those states!