The voting system in Mexico
Mexico is a federal state composed of thirty -two states: thirty -one states and the Federal District (Mexico City), the latter being the headquarters of federal branches. The government system is presidential. Both the power of the Federation and that of the thirty -two states are based on the principle of division of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial powers. The Federal Executive Power rests on the president of the United Mexican States, in each of the thirty -one states of the governor for each entity and in the head of government of the Federal District. They are all chosen every six years and cannot be re -elected. The Federal Legislative Power is conferred to the Congress of the Union, which is divided into a high house and a lower house. The legislative power of the thirty -two states is of a single chamber;Those who belong to thirty -one states are called local congresses and that of the Federal District is called Legislative Assembly.
All legislators are chosen for a period of three years, except members of the upper house that serve for a period of six years. The Judicial Branch of the Federation is in charge of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, composed of eleven ministers chosen by the vote of two thirds of the members of the Upper House, presented by the President, to fulfill fifteen -year mandates. The judicial branch of thirty -two states is invested on its respective Supreme Court of Justice. The Constitution establishes that all states of the Federation must adopt the municipality as the basis for territorial, political and administrative division. A municipal town hall, chosen by public and direct voting, manages each of the 2,441 municipalities in which the country is divided. Each municipal town hall is made up of a municipal president and a variable number of officials and trusts.
The Constitution recognizes that the elections are the only legitimate valid method to recover and renew the federal legislative and executive powers of the city’s states and advice. The Supreme Federal Executive Power rests on a single member. The president of the United Mexican States is conferred. In addition to leading the Government of the Republic, the President is also head of state and the army. It is chosen every six years by direct election, universal suffrage and the principle of relative or simple majority. The Political Constitution strictly prohibits re -election in any modality. The Federal Legislative Power is conferred to the Congress of the Union, which is divided into a high house and a lower house. 500 members that serve for a period of three years and cannot be re -elected for an immediate period compose the lower house, and 128 members who are chosen for a period of six years and can only be re -elected after a period of half of the period,Compose the Altacámara Chamber
Labaja is composed of 500 representatives, all of which are renewed every three years according to a variation of the personalized proportional representation system in which some of its members are chosen by a majority formula and the rest by a proportion formula of representation, underterms that ensure a high degree of proportionality between votes and seats.
Therefore, of the 500 members that make up the lower house, 300 are chosen by relative majorof 40 seats each. On this basis, the Constitution establishes two especially relevant provisions regarding the composition of the lower house: no political party can have more than 300 lower house members chosen by both principles, that is, relative majority and proportional representation.
Therefore, if a political party can aspire to the absolute majority of seats due to its electoral performance, the law prevents it from reaching the qualified majority (two thirds of the total number of seats) required to approve constitutional reforms by the party itself. In general terms and to guarantee the proportionality between the voting seats, no political party can have a total number of members of the lower house, exceeding eight points of the percentage of national votes cast in its name. For example, if a political party earns 35 percent of the elections, they will not have the right to obtain more than 43 percent of the seats, that is, more than 215 of the 500 seats. The Constitution also establishes that the only exception to this rule will be in the event that a political party obtains a percentage of the general seats of the Chamber that exceeds the sum of the percentage of national votes issued plus 8 percent through therelative majority of votes in a single party. Member districts.
For example, if a party wins 235 of the districts of a single member (representing 47 percent of the total), with 35 percent of the total votes cast, the proportionality rule of 8 percent would not be applicable although thedifferential between votes and seats would amount to 12 percent. The members of the Federal Lower House cannot be re -elected for the next immediate period, although this restriction does not apply to the substitute members of the lower house that have never been in office. In this case, they can become titular members of the lower house for the next immediate period. However, members of the lower house of the holder cannot be chosen for the next immediate period as substitutes.
The choice of the 300 members of the Federal Lower House through the principle of relative majority is carried out in 300 uninominal districts. The distribution of the 300 districts between thirty -two states is established in accordance with the percentage of the population living in each of them. On the basis of the results obtained in the population and housing census that is carried out every ten years in Mexico, the Constitution establishes that no state can have less than two federal districts of one member.
The election of the 200 members of the lower house through the principle of proportional representation is carried out through lists of regional voters in five districts of multiple members. 40 members of the lower house are equally elected in each of these districts. To participate in the choice of the lower house member, a political party must demonstrate that it has registered candidates for the lower house seats to be chosen through the principle of relative majority in at least 200 of the 300 districts of a single member. If you meet this requirement, the political party can register its regional list of candidates in the five districts of multiple members.
These regional lists are closed and blocked, which means that the order of the candidacies is invariable and none of them can be eliminated. In order for a party to have the right to have members of proportional representation in the lower house, it must obtain at least 2 percent of the total votes cast for these elections. The Constitution establishes that a political party that meets the two aforementioned requirements will be assigned a proportional number of members of the lower house per district, in accordance with the percentage of national votes won and considering the provisions related to the maximum amount ofseats that a single game can get. have (300) and the rule of proportionality in the proportion of votes / seats of 8 percent, when appropriate. The electoral legislation details the applicable formulas and procedures to designate the members of the lower house with proportional representation, considering the different hypotheses or scenarios established by the aforementioned provisions.
The upper house or the Senate is composed of 128 members chosen through a segmented system in which a section is chosen by a majority formula and another by a proportionality formula. Unlike the lower camera, the two segments operate independently. Three senators are chosen in each of the thirty -two states. For this purpose, political parties must register a list with two formulas for their candidates. Two of the seats are assigned through the principle of relative majority, that is, they belong to the match that obtained the greatest number of votes, and the third is designated through the first minority principle, that is, the party that obtained the second. greater number of votes. The remaining thirty -two seats are designated by means of the proportional representation system, according to voter lists in a single national district of multiple members. The law establishes that a pure proportionality formula (natural quotient and upper rest) must be used for appointment. As mentioned above, the alternate members of the lower house and the upper house can be chosen for the next immediate period as titular members, provided they have never been in office, but members of the upper house and the lower house cannotbe chosen as substitutes for the next immediate period .
The Constitution establishes that cameras cannot open their sessions or exercise their functions without the presence of more than half of their total number of members. However, the members present must meet the day designated by law and force the absent to be present within the next thirty days. If the absent cannot attend again, they have considered that they have resigned from their position and the substitutes are appointed. The substitutes must appear within the next 30 days. If they do not, their seats are considered vacancies and new elections are convened. Congress must hold two periods of ordinary sessions per year. The first begins on September 1 of each year and can be extended until December 15 of the same year, except in the years when the President of the Republic assumes the position. In this case, the sessions can extend until December 31. The second period begins on February 1 and ends on April 30. During recess periods, a permanent commission is formed consisting of 37 members. Nineteen of them are members of the lower house, and eighteen are members of the upper house, appointed by their respective rooms the day before the closure of the ordinary periods of sessions.
Therefore, the Permanent Commission has the exclusive attribution of summoning Congress or one of the Chambers to extraordinary sessions, either in its name or by request of the Executive Power. The vote of the two thirds of the members present is mandatory in any case. The president, the members of the upper and low house of the Congress and the state legislative bodies have the exclusive right to approve laws or decrees. The Federal Legal System does not recognize any type of semi-direct democracy mechanism, such as plebiscite, referendum, citizen initiative and freely chosen representatives.
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