Mexico 1917 Constitution (reviewed 2015)

TITLE ONE

CHAPTER I. Human Rights and Guarantees

Article 1

In the United Mexican States, all individuals shall be entitled to the human rights granted by this Constitution and the international treaties signed by the Mexican State, as well as to the guarantees for the protection of these rights. Such human rights shall not be restricted or suspended, except for the cases and under the conditions established by this Constitution itself.

The provisions relating to human rights shall be interpreted according to this Constitution and the international treaties on the subject, working in favor of the broader protection of people at all times.

All authorities, in their areas of competence, are obliged to promote, respect, protect and guarantee Human Rights, in accordance with the principles of universality, interdependence, indivisibility and progressiveness. As a consequence, the State must prevent, investigate, penalize and rectify violations to Human Rights, according to the law.

Slavery shall be forbidden in Mexico. Every individual who is considered as a slave at a foreign country shall be freed and protected under the law by just entering the country.

Any form of discrimination, based on ethnic or national origin, gender, age, disabilities, social status, medical conditions, religion, opinions, sexual orientation, marital status, or any other form, which violates the human dignity or seeks to annul or diminish the rights and freedoms of the people, is prohibited.

Article 2

The Mexican Nation is unique and indivisible.

The nation is multicultural, based originally on its indigenous peoples, described as descendants of those inhabiting the country before colonization and that preserve their own social, economic, cultural and political institutions, or some of them.

Consciousness of indigenous identity will be the fundamental criteria to determine to whom apply the provisions on indigenous people.

An indigenous community is defined as the community that constitutes a cultural, economic and social unit settled in a territory and that recognizes its own authorities, according to their customs.

Indigenous people’s right to self-determination shall be subjected to the Constitution in order to guarantee national unity. States’ and Federal District’s constitutions and laws must recognize indigenous peoples and communities, taking into account the general principles established in the previous paragraphs, as well as ethnic-linguistic and land settlement criteria.

1. This Constitution recognizes and protects the indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination and, consequently, the right to autonomy, so that they can:
   1. Decide their internal forms of coexistence, as well their social, economic, political and cultural organization.
   2. Apply their own legal systems to regulate and solve their internal conflicts, subjected to the general principles of this Constitution, respecting the fundamental rights, the human rights and, above all, the dignity and safety of women. The law shall establish the way in which judges and courts will validate the aforementioned regulations.
   3. Elect, in accordance with their traditional rules, procedures and customs, their authorities or representatives to exercise their own form of internal government, guaranteeing the right to vote and being voted of indigenous women and men under equitable condition; as well as to guarantee the access to public office or elected positions to those citizens that have been elected or designated within a framework that respects the federal pact and the sovereignty of the states. In no case the communitarian practices shall limit the electoral or political rights of the citizens in the election of their municipal authorities.
   4. Preserve and enrich their languages, knowledge and all the elements that constitute their culture and identity.
   5. Maintain and improve their environment and lands, according to this Constitution.
   6. Attain with preferential use of the natural resources of the sites inhabited by their indigenous communities, except for the strategic resources defined by this Constitution. The foregoing rights shall be exercised respecting the forms of property ownership and land possession established in this Constitution and in the laws on the matter as well as respecting third parties’ rights. To achieve these goals, indigenous communities may form partnerships under the terms established by the Law.
   7. Elect indigenous representatives for the town council in those municipalities with indigenous population.The constitutions and laws of the States shall recognize and regulate these rights in the municipalities, with the purpose of strengthening indigenous peoples’ participation and political representation, in accordance with their traditions and regulations.
   8. Have full access to State jurisdiction. In order to protect this right, in all trials and proceedings that involve natives, individually or collectively, their customs and cultural practices must be taken into account, respecting the provisions established in this Constitution. Indigenous people have, at all times, the right to be assisted by interpreters and counsels, who are familiar to their language and culture.

   The constitutions and laws of the States and the Federal District shall establish those elements of self-determination and autonomy that may best express the conditions and aspirations of indigenous peoples in each State, as well as the rules, according to which indigenous communities will be defined as public interest entities.

2. In order to promote equal opportunities for indigenous people and to eliminate discriminatory practices, the Federation, the Federal District, the States and the local councils shall establish the necessary institutions and policies to guarantee indigenous people’s rights and comprehensive development of indigenous communities. Such institutions and policies shall be designed and operated together with them.In order to eliminate the scarcities and backwardness affecting indigenous towns and communities, authorities are obliged to:
   1. Stimulate regional development in indigenous areas with the purpose of strengthening local economies and improving the quality of life. To achieve this goal, the three levels of government and the indigenous communities must take part in a coordinated manner. Local governments shall equitably determine the budget that is to be directly managed by the indigenous communities for specific goals.
   2. Guarantee education and increase educational level of indigenous peoples, favoring bilingual and cross-cultural education, literacy, completion of the elementary and secondary education, technical training, high education and university education. Also, the authorities must establish a scholarship system for indigenous students at all grades, as well as define and carry out regional educational programs, according to indigenous peoples’ cultural heritage and opinion, and according to the law. Authorities must promote respect towards the several cultures of the Nation and knowledge about them.
   3. Enforce an effective access to health services by increasing the coverage of the national health services, while making good use of traditional medicine and also to improve the indigenous people’s nutrition through food programs focusing especially on children.
   4. Improve the living conditions of indigenous communities and the spaces used for social activities and recreation through policies that enables the access to public and private financing for housing construction and home improvements, as well as policies that extend the coverage of basic social services.
   5. Promote indigenous women development by supporting their productive projects, protecting their health, granting incentives for their education and fostering indigenous women participation in decision-making process of their communities.
   6. Extend the communication infrastructure, enabling integration of communities to the rest of the country, by constructing and expanding transportation routes and telecommunication means. Also, authorities are obliged to develop the conditions required so that indigenous peoples and communities may acquire, operate and manage media, in accordance with the law.
   7. Support productive activities and sustainable development of indigenous communities through actions that allow them to achieve economic self-sufficiency; granting incentives for public and private investments that create new jobs; the use of new technology to increase productive capacity and to assure equitable access to supply and marketing systems.
   8. Establish social policies to protect indigenous immigrants both, in Mexican territory and foreign countries, through actions that: assure farm workers’ labor rights, improve women’s health, provide special educational and nutrition programs for children and young people belonging to immigrant families, ensure their human rights are respected and spread indigenous peoples’ culture.
   9. Consult indigenous peoples’ opinion and recommendations while preparing the National Development Plan, the State plans and the local plans and, if appropriate, incorporate their recommendations and proposals.

   In order to enforce the obligations set forth herein, the House of Representatives, the legislative bodies of the Federal District and the States, as well as the Municipal Councils, within the scope of their jurisdictions, shall establish specific budgets to comply with these obligations, as well as the procedures enabling communities to participate in the exercise and supervision thereof.

   Any community comparable to indigenous peoples shall have the same rights as the indigenous people, according to the law, without detrimental to rights of natives, their communities and peoples established in this Constitution.

Article 3

All people have the right of education. The State – Federation, States, Federal District and Municipalities – will provide preschool, elementary, middle and high education. Preschool, elementary and middle educations are considered as basic education; these and the high school education will be mandatory.

Education provided by the State shall develop harmoniously all human abilities and will stimulate in pupils the love for the country, respect for human rights and the principles of international solidarity, independence and justice.

The State will guarantee the quality in mandatory education, in a way that educational material and methods, school organization, educational infrastructure and the suitability of teachers and principals ensure the highest learning achievement of students.

1. According to the Article 24 regarding the freedom of religion, the education provided by the State shall be secular, therefore, state education shall be maintained entirely apart from any religious doctrine.
2. The guiding principles for state education shall be based on scientific progress and shall fight against ignorance and its effects, servitude, fanaticism and prejudices.Furthermore, state education shall:
   1. Be democratic, understanding democracy not only as a legal structure and political regime, but also as a way of life grounded on the continuous economic, social and cultural development;
   2. Be national, which means that, without hostility or exclusivism, state education shall cover national problems and the utilization of our resources, shall defend our political independence, assure our economic independence, and preserve and develop our culture;
   3. Contribute to a better human coexistence, in order to strengthen the appreciation and respect for cultural diversity, human dignity, the integrity of the family, the convictions over society’s general interest, the fraternity and equality of rights ideals, avoiding privileges based on race, religion, group, sex or individual, and
   4. It shall be of quality, based on the constant progress and highest academic achievement of the students;
3. To fully comply with the provisions established in the second paragraph and under section II, the Federal Executive shall establish the syllabus for preschool, elementary and secondary education, as well as for teacher training colleges, to be applied throughout the country. To that end, the Federal Executive shall take into account the opinion of the States’ and the Federal District’s governments, as well as the opinions of civil society groups involved in education, teachers and parents, in accordance with the law. Additionally, admission to teaching positions and the promotions to management and supervisory positions in basic and medium education ran by the State shall be granted through competitive contest that shall guarantee that the knowledge and abilities are suitable for the post. The implementing law will set the criteria, terms and conditions of the mandatory evaluation for the admission, promotion, acknowledgment and continuance in the professional service with full respect to the constitutional rights of education workers. All admissions and promotions not granted according to law shall be deemed null and void. The provisions in this paragraph shall not be applicable to institutions referred to in section VII of this article;
4. All the education provided by the State shall be free of charge;
5. In addition to providing the preschool, elementary, middle and high education mentioned in previous paragraphs, the State will promote and use all educational types and modalities, from the starting education to the higher education, necessary for the development of the nation, will support scientific and technological research and will promote strengthening and spreading our culture;
6. Private entities may provide all kinds of education. In accordance with the law, the State shall have powers to grant and cancel official accreditation to studies done at private institutions. In the case of pre-school, elementary and secondary education, as well as teacher training college, private schools must:
   1. Provide education in accordance with the same purposes and criteria established in paragraph second and section II, as well as to comply with the syllabus mentioned in section III; and
   2. Obtain a previous and explicit authorization from the authorities, under the terms provided by the Law.
7. Universities and other higher education institutions, upon which the law has conferred autonomy, shall have both the powers and the duty to govern themselves. They must subject themselves to the principles established in this article to educate, do research and promote culture, respecting academic freedom, researching freedom, freedom to apply exams and to discuss ideas. These institutions shall develop their academic plans; they shall establish the terms for admission, promotion and tenure of their academic personnel; and they shall manage their estate. Labor relationships between institution and academic and administrative personnel shall be governed by section A of article 123 of this Constitution, in accordance with the terms of the National Labor Relations Act for a specially regulated work, without interfering with the autonomy, academic freedom, research freedom and the goals of the institutions referred herein,
8. In order to unify and coordinate education throughout the country, the Congress of the Union shall issue the necessary laws to allocate the social duty of education among the Federation, the States and the Municipalities, and shall establish the pertinent budget and the penalties applicable to those civil servants who fail to comply or enforce these provisions, and to any other offender thereof, and
9. In order to guarantee the provision of quality education services, the National Education Evaluation System has been created. The National Institute for the Evaluation of Education will coordinate said system. The National Institute for the Evaluation of Education will be an autonomous public agency, with legal personality and its own budget. The Institute shall evaluate the quality, performance and results of the national educational system in the preschool, elementary, junior high and high school. To that end, it shall:
   1. Design and perform the evaluation measurements corresponding to components, processes or results of this system;
   2. Issue the guidelines to which the federal and local educational authorities will be subject to, to perform the corresponding evaluation functions, and
   3. Generate and publicize information, based on which it will issue the relevant guidelines to contribute to decisions about the improvement of education quality and its equity as an essential factor in the search of social equality.

   The Governing Board will be the managing body of the Institute and will be formed with five members. The Federal Executive will present a list of three candidates for consideration of the House of Senators, which, with previous appearance of the proposed persons, shall appoint the person to fill the position. Appointment shall be decided with a two-thirds vote of the present members of the Senate or, during its recess, a two-thirds vote of the Permanent Commission, within a thirty days period not to be extended. Should the Senate fail to decide on the appointment within such time limit, the position will be filled by one of the three candidates to be selected by the Federal Executive.

   In case that the Senate rejects the proposed list of three entirely, the Federal Executive shall submit a new one in accordance to the rules set forth in the previous paragraph. If the second list was rejected, the position will be filled by one of the candidates in the list to be selected by the Federal Executive.

   Members of the Governing Board shall be capable and experienced individuals in the field under the purview of the Institute, and shall meet the requirements set forth by law. They shall remain in office for seven years in staggered terms, subject to only one reelection. Members of the Governing Board may not stay in office for more than fourteen years. In case of vacancy, the substitute will be appointed to complete the respective term. They can only be removed for severe cause under the terms of Title IV of this Constitution, and they shall not hold any other position job, position or commission with the exception of those in which they act in representation of Institute and those non-remunerated positions in teaching, scientific, cultural or charitable activities.

   The Governing Board, in a collegiate manner shall appoint, by a 3-vote majority, the member that will preside for a term set by law.

   The law shall establish the rules for the organization and operation of the Institute, which will govern its activities according to the principles of independence, transparency, objectivity, pertinence, diversity and inclusion.

   The law shall establish the necessary mechanisms and actions to allow efficacious cooperation and coordination between the Institute and the federal and local education authorities to achieve a better discharge of their respective duties.

Article 4

Man and woman are equal under the law. The law shall protect the organization and development of the family.

Every person has the right to decide, in a free, responsible and informed manner, about the number of children desired and the timing between each of them.

All individuals have the right to nutritional, sufficient and quality nourishment. The State shall guarantee this.

Every person has the right to health protection. The law shall determine the bases and terms to access health services and shall establish the competence of the Federation and the Local Governments in regard to sanitation according to the item XVI in Article 73 of this Constitution.

Any person has the right to a healthy environment for his/her own development and well-being. The State will guarantee the respect to such right. Environmental damage and deterioration will generate a liability for whoever provokes them in terms of the provisions by the law.

Any person has the right of access, provision and drainage of water for personal and domestic consumption in a sufficient, healthy, acceptable and affordable manner. The State will guarantee such right and the law will define the bases, subsidies and modality for the equitable and sustainable access and use of the freshwater resources, establishing the participation of the Federation, local governments and municipalities, as well as the participation of the citizens for the achievement of such purposes.

Any family has the right to enjoy a decent and respectable house. The law will set the instruments and supports necessary to achieve such objective.

Any person has the right to identity and to be registered immediately after their birth. The State shall guarantee the compliance of these rights. The competent authority shall issue, without any cost, the first certified copy of the birth certificate or registration.

The State, in all decisions it makes and all actions it carries out, will safeguard and comply with the principle of doing what is in the best interest of children, thus entirely guaranteeing their rights. Boys and girls have the right to having their nutritional, health, educational and recreational needs satisfied for their proper development. This principle should guide the design, enforcement, following up and evaluation of the public policies focused on childhood.

Ascendant relatives and guardians have the obligation of maintaining and demanding the compliance of these rights and principles.

The State will grant aid to individuals in order to assist with the compliance of the rights of children.

Every person has cultural rights, has the right of access to culture and the right to enjoy state cultural services. The State shall provide the means to spread and develop culture, taking into account the cultural diversity of our country and respecting creative freedom. The law shall provide instruments that guarantee access and participation of any cultural expression.

All individuals have a right to physical culture and the practice of sports. The State shall promote and stimulate this right by issuing laws on the matter.

Article 5

No person may be prevented from performing the profession, industry, business or work of his choice, provided that it is lawful. This right may only be banned by judicial resolution, when third parties’ rights are infringed, or by government order, issued according to the law when society’s rights are infringed. No one can be deprived of legal wages, except by a judicial ruling.

In each state, the law shall determine which professions require a degree to be practiced, the requirements for such degree and the appropriate authorities to issue it.

No one can be compelled to work or render personal services without obtaining a fair compensation and without his full consent, unless the work has been imposed as a penalty by a judicial authority, which shall be subjected to the provisions established in the Article 123, sections I and II.

Only the following public services may be mandatory, and always according to the respective law: military service, jury service, councilman service and positions granted through the direct or indirect vote. Electoral and census duties shall be mandatory and free; however, those services performed professionally shall be paid as provided by this Constitution and any applicable laws. Social professional services shall be mandatory and remunerated according to the law and with the exceptions established in it.

Any contract, pact or agreement, which purpose is the demerit, loss or irrevocable sacrifice of a person’s liberty is prohibited.

Any contract by which a person agrees to his own proscription or exile, or by which he temporarily or permanently waives his right to practice certain profession, industry or business shall not be authorized either.

A work contract will oblige the person only to render the service mentioned in that contract during the term established by law, which may not exceed one year in detriment of the worker. The work contract cannot include the waiver, loss or damage of any political or civil right.

In the event that the worker fails to fulfill said contract, he only may be subjected to civil liability, but never may be exerted any coercion on him.

Article 6

Expression of ideas shall not be subject to judicial or administrative inquiry, except for those cases when such expression of ideas goes against the moral, privacy or the rights of third parties, causes perpetration of a felony, or disturbs the public order. The right of reply shall be exercised according to law. The State shall guarantee the right to information.

Every person shall be entitled to free access to plural and timely information, as well as to search for, receive and distribute information and ideas of any kind, through any means of expression.

The State shall guarantee access to information and communication technology, access to the services of radio broadcast, telecommunications and broadband Internet. To that end, the State shall establish effective competition conditions for the provision of such services.

To accomplish the provisions of this article, the following points shall be observed:

1. In order to exercise the right of access to information, the Federation, the States and the Federal District, according to their respective powers, shall act in accordance to the following basis and principles:
   1. All information in custody of any authority, entity or organ of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Powers, autonomous organisms, political parties, public funds or any person or group, such as unions, entitled with public funds or that can exercise authority at the federal, state or municipal level is public. This information may only be reserved temporarily due to public interest or national security, following the law provisions for this. The principle of maximum disclosure shall prevail when interpreting this right. The obligated subjects (obligors) must record every activity that derives from their authority, competence or function, the law will specifically establish the assumptions under the declaration of inexistence of information shall proceed.
   2. Information regarding private life and personal data shall be protected according to law and with the exceptions established therein.
   3. Every person shall have free access to public information, his/her personal data and in the case to the rectification of his/her personal data, without the necessity to argue interest or justification.
   4. The mechanisms to access information and expedite review procedures shall be established. These procedures must be formalized before specialized and impartial autonomous agencies established by this Constitution.
   5. Government agencies (obligors) shall record and keep their documents in updated administrative files, and shall disclose, through electronic media, the complete and updated information about the use of public resources and their management indexes so that the information allows accountability procedures in regard to the fulfillment of their objectives and the results of their performance.
   6. The law shall establish procedures for governmental agencies (obligors) to disclose information concerning the use of public resources paid to individuals or companies.
   7. Failure to comply with these dispositions in regard to the access to public information shall be penalized according to the law.
   8. The Federation shall establish an autonomous, specialized, impartial and collegiate agency. It must have a legal personality; own assets; full technical, managerial and decision power over its budget and internal organization; and shall be responsible for guaranteeing the fulfillment of the right of access to public information and the protection of personal data held by public agencies (obligated subjects), according to the terms established by law.The autonomous transparency agency established in this fraction will be governed by the transparency and access to public information law, as well as the law for the protection on personal data held by obligated subjects, in the terms established by the general law issued by the Congress to set the basic principles, basis and procedures for the exercise of the information rights.

      This agency will be governed by the principles of certainty, legality, independence, impartiality, efficiency, objectiveness, professionalism, transparency and maximum publicity.

      The autonomous transparency agency has competence to receive inquiries related to the right of access to public information and the protection of personal data from any authority, entity, organism or agency that belongs to any of the Executive, Legislative or Judicial Powers, as well as any autonomous agency, political parties public trusts and public funds, or any other person, group, union or organization that receives or use public resources or that exercise authority at the federal domain with exception of those issues that correspond to the jurisdiction of the Federal Supreme Court, in which case a committee of three Supreme Court Justices would decide the issue. The autonomous transparency agency has, also the competence to receive the inquiries from individuals in regard to the resolutions issued by the local autonomous specialized transparency agencies and the Federal District transparency agency that ruled the inexistence, reserve, and confidentiality of information or that refuses to disclose information according to the terms established by law.

      The National Transparency Agency [organismo garante], ex oficio or by substantiated petition of the local agency from the States or the Federal District may receive or analyze the inquiries that due to its importance or transcendence are in the interest of the National Transparency Agency.

      The law will determine the information that shall be considered as reserved or confidential.

      The resolutions of the National Transparency Agency are mandatory, definitive and indisputable for the obligated subjects (obligors). Only in the cases that the resolutions may be considered to endanger public security according to the law in the matter, the Legal Councilor of the Federal Government may present a review inquiry to the Supreme Court.

      The National Transparency Agency [organismo garante] shall be constituted by seven commissioners. To appoint them, the Senate, previous extensive consultation to social actors and by proposal of the different parliamentary groups, will appoint the commissioner with the vote of two-thirds of the Senators present in the session according to the vacancy that must be covered and following the procedure established by law. The President may oppose the appointment within ten business days. If the President does not oppose the appointment within the given days, then the person appointed by the Senate will assume the commissioner office.

      Given the case that the President opposes the appointment, the Senate will present a new proposal to occupy the vacancy according to the previous paragraph. However, to approve the proposal the vote of three-fifths of the Senators present is required. If this second appointment were objected, the Senate, according to the procedures in the previous paragraph, with the approval of three-fifths of the Senators present would appoint definitively the commissioner that will occupy the vacancy.

      The commissioner office will be held during seven years, and the commissioners shall fulfill the requirements provided in the fractions I, II, IV, V and VI of the article 95th of this Constitution. The commissioners shall not hold other office, have an additional employment, or other commission with exception of the non-profit chairs or offices related to charities and academic or scientific institutions. The commissioners can only be removed from office according to the terms in the Fourth Title of this Constitution and they will be subject to political trial.

      The conformation of the National Transparency Agency shall promote gender equality.

      The Commissioner President shall be selected by a peer process, through the secret vote of the commissioners. The Commissioner President will remain in office for three years, with the possibility of being reelected to other three years. The commissioner president must render an annual report before the Senate in the date and terms described by the law.

      The National Transparency Agency [organo garante] shall have an Advisory Board, formed with ten council members that shall be elected by the vote of two thirds of the present Senators. The law will establish the procedures to present the proposals to the Senate. Each year, the two council members with longer tenure will be replaced, unless they were proposed and ratified for a second term in office.

      The law will establish the emergency measures and procedures that the Agency could implement to guarantee the fulfillment of its decisions.

      Every authority and public servant is compelled to help the National Transparency Agency and its Commissioners for the adequate performance of the Agency.

      The National Transparency Agency will coordinate its actions with the Federal Superior Comptroller Office [Entidad de Fiscalizacion Superior de la Federacion], the entity specialized in archives and files, the organ in charge of gathering and process of statistical and geographical data, as well as, with the local agencies in the States and the Federal District in order to strengthen the accountability within the Mexican State.

2. In matters of broadcasting and telecommunications:
   1. The State shall guarantee the integration to the information and knowledge society of its population through a policy of universal digital inclusion crafted with annual and sexennial goals.
   2. Telecommunications are deemed as public services of general interest and, therefore, the State shall guarantee that they are offered under competitive conditions, with quality, plurality, universal coverage, interconnection, convergence, continuity, free access, and free from arbitrary interferences.
   3. Broadcasting is deemed as public services of general interest and, therefore, the State shall guarantee that it be offered with quality and under competitive conditions, to deliver the benefits of culture to the population, preserving plurality and veracity of the information so broadcasted, as well as the promotion of national identity values, contributing to the goals established in Article 3 of this Constitution.
   4. The broadcasting of publicity or propaganda presented as information coming from news or reports is hereby prohibited; the conditions to be met by the content and the contracting of the service for its broadcasting to the public shall be established, including those relative to the liability of concessionaires with regard to the information broadcasted for thirds parties, without prejudice to the freedom of speech and broadcasting.
   5. A statute shall establish a decentralized agency with technical, operative, decision-making and management autonomy, which shall provide non-profit broadcasting to secure access to the population at large in each and every one of the Federation’s jurisdictions, to media contents that promote: national integration; educational, cultural and civic training; gender equality; supply of impartial, timely and truthful information about national and international news, allowing for the broadcasting of independent productions, as well as the expression of diverse and pluralistic opinions that strengthen societal democratic life.The agency shall have a citizens’ council to secure independence and an impartial and objective editorial policy. The council shall have nine members to be elected, after ample public consultation, with a two-thirds vote by the Senate or, during recess, by the Permanent Committee. Council members shall serve in staggered terms. Each year, the two most senior members shall be replaced unless ratified for a second term by the Senate.

      The Senate or, during recess, the Permanent Committee, shall appoint the President of the agency, upon the proposal of the Federal Executive, with a two-thirds vote. The President shall stay in office for five years, and may be re-appointed for only one additional term. The President may only be removed with a two-thirds vote by the Senate.

      The President of the agency shall present and annual report of activities to the Executive and Legislative branches, and he will appear before both chambers of Congress in accordance with the law.

   6. A statute shall establish telecommunications consumers’ and audience’s rights, as well as the remedies for their protection.

Article 7

Freedom of speech, opinion, ideas and information through any means shall not be abridged. Said right shall neither be abridged through any indirect means, such as abuse of official or private control over paper, radio electric frequencies or any other materials or devices used to deliver information, or through any other means or information and communication technologies aimed at impeding transmission or circulation of ideas and opinions.

No statute or authority shall establish prior restraints, nor shall it abridge freedom of speech, which shall be subject to no other limitation than those foreseen in the first paragraph of Article 6 of this Constitution. Under no circumstances shall the assets used for the transmission of information, opinions and ideas be subject to seizure on the grounds of being an instrumentality of a felony.

Article 8

Public officers and employees will respect the exercise of the right to petition provided that petition is made in writing and in a peaceful and respectful manner. Regarding political petitioning, only citizens have this right.

Every petition must be decided in writing by the authority to whom it was addressed, who has the duty to reply to the petitioner within a brief term.

Article 9

The right to peacefully associate or assembly for any licit purpose cannot be restricted. Only citizens of the Republic may take part in the political affairs of the country. No armed meeting has the right to deliberate.

Meetings organized to make a petition or to submit a protest to any authority cannot be considered as unlawful, nor be broken, provided that no insults are uttered against the authority and no violence or threats are used to intimidate or force the decision of such authority.

Article 10

The inhabitants of the United Mexican States have the right to keep arms at home, for their protection and legitimate defense, with the exception of those prohibited by the Federal Law and those reserved for the exclusive use of the Army, Navy, Air Force and National Guard. Federal Law will state the cases, conditions, requirements and places where inhabitants can be authorized to carry weapons.

Article 11

Every person has the right to enter and leave the country, to travel through its territory and to move house without the necessity of a letter of safe passage, passport, safe-conduct or any other similar requirement. In the event of criminal or civil liability, the exercise of this right shall be subject to the judicial authority. Relating to limitations imposed by the laws on immigration and public health, or in respect to undesirable aliens residing in the country, the exercise of this right shall be subject to the administrative authority.

In case of political persecution, any person has the right to seek political asylum, which will be provided for humanitarian reasons. The law shall regulate the cases in which political asylum should be provided, as well as the exceptions.

Article 12

No titles of nobility, nor prerogatives and hereditary honors shall be granted in the United Mexican States. Furthermore, those granted by any other country shall have no effect.

Article 13

No one can be tried under special laws or special courts. No person or corporation can have any privileges, nor enjoy emoluments, other than those given in compensation for public services and which must be established by the law. Military jurisdiction prevails for crimes and faults against military discipline; but, under no case and for no circumstance, military courts can extend their jurisdiction over persons who are not members of the Armed Forces. Civilians involved in military crimes or faults shall be put on trial before the competent civil authority.

Article 14

No law will have retroactive effect in detriment of any person.

No one can be deprived of his freedom, properties or rights without a trial before previously established courts, complying with the essential formalities of the proceedings and according to those laws issued beforehand.

With regard to criminal trials, it is forbidden to impose any penalty which has not been expressly decreed by a law applicable to the crime in question, arguing mere analogy or majority of reason.

In civil trials, final sentence must agree with the law writing or the legal interpretation thereof. In the case of lack of the appropriate law, sentence must be based on the general principles of law.

Article 15

The United Mexican States disallow international treaties for extradition when the person to be extradited is politically persecuted, or accused of ordinary crime while having the condition of a slave in the country where he/she committed the crime, as well as the agreements or treaties that alter the human rights established by this Constitution and the international treaties signed by the Mexican State.

Article 16

No person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, his/her family, papers, properties or be invaded at home without a written order from a competent authority, duly explaining the legal cause of the proceeding.

All people have the right to enjoy protection on his personal data, and to access, correct and cancel such data. All people have the right to oppose the disclosure of his data, according to the law. The law shall establish exceptions to the criteria that rule the handling of data, due to national security reasons, law and order, public security, public health, or protection of third party’s rights.

Only judicial authority can issue an arrest warrant. Such arrest warrant shall always be preceded by a formal accusation or charge of misconduct considered as criminal offence, punishable with imprisonment, provided that there is evidence to prove that a crime has been committed and that the defendant is criminally liable.

The authority executing an arrest warrant shall bring the accused before the judge without any delay and under its sole responsibility. Failure to comply with this provision will be punished under criminal law.

In cases of flagante delicto, any person may arrest the offender, turning him over without delay to the nearest authorities, which in turn, shall bring him before the Public Prosecution Service. A record of such arrest must be done immediately.

The Public Prosecution Service may order arrest of the accused, explaining the causes of such decision, only under the following circumstances all together: a) in urgent cases, b) when dealing with serious offence, c) under reasonable risk that the accused could evade the justice and, d) because of the time, place or circumstance, accused cannot be brought before judicial authority.

In cases of urgency or flagrancy, the judge before whom the prisoner is presented shall immediately confirm the arrest or order his release, according to the conditions established in the law.

In the case of organized crime, and at the request of the Public Prosecution Service, judicial authority can order to put a person into hold restraint, complying with the terms of time and place established by law and without exceeding forty days, whenever necessary for the success of the investigation, the protection of people or legal goods, or when there is reason to believe that the accused could avoid the action of justice. The forty days term can be extended, provided that the Public Prosecution Service proves that the causes that originate hold restraint still remain. In any case, the hold restraint shall not last more than eighty days.

The term organized crime is defined as the organization of three or more people gathered together to commit crimes in a permanent or frequent manner, in the terms provided by the correspondent law.

No accused person shall be held by the Public Prosecution Service for more than forty-eight hours. After this term, his release shall be ordered or he shall be brought before a judicial authority. Such term may be duplicated in case of organized crime. Any abuse shall be punished by criminal law.

Only a judicial authority can issue a search warrant at the request of the Public Prosecution Service. The search warrant must describe the place to be searched, the person or persons to be apprehended and the objects to be seized. Upon the conclusion of the search, a report must be compiled at the site and before two witnesses proposed by the occupant of the place searched or, in his absence or refusal, by the acting authority.

Private communications shall not be breached. The law shall punish any action against the liberty and privacy of such communications, except when they are voluntarily given by one of the individuals involved in them. A judge shall assess the implications of such communications, provided they contain information related to the perpetration of a crime. Communications that violate confidentiality established by law shall not be admitted in any case.

Only the federal judicial authority can authorize telephone tapping and interception of private communications, at the request of the appropriate federal authority or the State Public Prosecution Service. The authority that makes the request shall present in writing the legal causes for the request, describing therein the kind of interception required, the individuals subjected to interception and the term thereof. The federal judicial authority cannot authorize telephone tapping nor interception of communications in the following cases: a) when the matters involved are of electoral, fiscal, commercial, civil, labor or administrative nature, b) communications between defendant and his attorney.

The judiciaries shall have control judges who shall immediately and by any means solve the precautionary measures requests and investigation techniques, ensuring compliance with the rights of the accused and the victims. An authentic registry of all the communications between judges and the Public Prosecution Service and other competent authorities shall be kept.

Authorized telephone tapping and interception of communications shall be subjected to the requirements and limitations set forth in the law. The results of telephone tapping and interception of communications that do not comply with the aforesaid requirements will not be admitted as evidence.

Administrative authorities shall have powers to search private households only in order to enforce sanitary and police regulations. Administrative authorities can require the accounts books and documents to corroborate compliance with fiscal provisions, following the procedures and formalities established for search warrants.

The sealed correspondence circulating through the mail shall be exempt from any search and the violation thereof shall be punishable by the law.

During peacetime, no member of the Army can be quartered in a private house against the owner’s will nor impose any requirements. During a war, soldiers can demand lodging, baggage, food and other requirements in the terms set forth by the applicable martial law.

Article 17

Nobody can take justice into their own hands, nor have resort to violence to enforce his rights.

All people have the right to enjoy justice before the courts and under the terms and conditions set forth by the laws. The courts shall issue their rulings in a prompt, complete and impartial manner. Court’s services shall be free, judicial fees are prohibited.

The Mexican Congress shall enact laws to regulate collective actions. Such laws shall establish the cases in which each law applies, as well as the judicial proceedings and the remedies for redress. Only the federal judges have jurisdiction on these proceedings.

The laws shall provide alternative mechanisms to resolve controversies. Regarding to criminal matter, the laws shall regulate application of such mechanisms, ensure redress and establish the cases in which judicial supervision is required.

The sentences by which an oral proceeding ends shall be explained in a public hearing before the parties.

Federal and local laws shall provide the necessary means to guarantee the independence of the courts and the full enforcement of their rulings.

The Federation, the States and the Federal District must guarantee the existence of a quality public defender office and shall provide the conditions for a professional career service for the defenders. The defenders’ fees shall not be inferior to the public prosecutors’ fees.

Imprisonment shall be forbidden as a way to punish exclusively civil debts.

Article 18

Preventive custody shall be reserved for crimes punishable by imprisonment. Preventive prisons shall be completely separated from the prisons used for convicted persons.

The prison system shall be organized on the basis of respect for human rights, as well as work, training, education, health and sports as a means to achieve inmate’s social rehabilitation, pursuing that he/she will not commit a crime again and following the benefits that the law establishes for him/her. Women and men shall be imprisoned in separate places.

The Federation, the States and the Federal District can make and execute agreements to send the inmates convicted for crimes under its jurisdictions to serve their sentence in other prisons under a different jurisdiction.

The Federation, the States and the Federal District shall establish, within the field of their respective powers, an integral justice system for minor offenders that shall be used for those persons that have been found guilty of committing or participating in a crime as stated by the law and that their age ranges from twelve years old and less than eighteen years old. The system shall guarantee the human rights recognized by this Constitution for every person, as well as those specific rights that due to the their status as a person under development have been granted to children. People under twelve years of age who have been found guilty of having committed or participated in a crime as stated by the law shall only be subjected to social assistance.

The management of this system will be organized by institutions, courts and authorities specializing in justice administration and legal proceedings regarding teenagers. The system shall use advice, protection and treatment methods that apply on each particular case following the principles of comprehensive protection and superior interest of the teenager.

If appropriate, alternative forms of justice should be used in this system. The judicial process for teenager’s justice shall be through an oral adversarial system in which due process shall be strictly followed as well as the principle of independence among authorities in charge of the process or the conviction. Measures imposed to teenagers shall be proportional to the misconduct and shall seek teenager’s social and family reintegration, as well as the complete development of his person and capabilities. Confinement shall only be used as an extreme measure and for the briefest period of time that applies to the case. Confinement can be applied only to teenagers above fourteen years old who have committed or participated in an act that the law describes as a crime.

Mexicans who are serving imprisonment penalties in foreign countries may be brought to the United Mexican States to serve their sentences according to the rehabilitation systems provided in this article. Foreigners who are serving imprisonment penalties may be transferred to their countries, in accordance with international treaties. Prisoner must grant his/her consent for the transfer.

Convicts may serve their sentence in the penitentiaries closer to their home, in order to encourage their reintegration to the community. This provision shall not be applicable to organized crime and to inmates who require special security measures.

Special centers shall be created for preventive imprisonment and for penalties regarding organized crime. The competent authority can restrict communication between accused person or prisoner and third parties in the event of organized crime, except for defender. The authority also can impose measures of special surveillance on these inmates. This provision can be applied to other inmates who require special security measures.

Article 19

Detentions before a judicial authority in excess of 72 hours, counted from the moment the accused is presented to the authority, are prohibited without presenting formal charges indicating the crime, place, time and circumstances of such crime; as well as the evidence of the crime and of the probable liability of the accused.

The Public Prosecution Service can request of the judge preventive prison only when other precautionary measures are not enough to ensure the presence of the accused in his trial, the development of the investigation, the protection of the victim, witnesses or community, as well as when the accused is on trial or had been previously convicted for having committed an intentional crime. Also, the judge will order preventive prison, by its own motion, in the following cases: organized crime; deceitful homicide; rape; kidnap; trafficking in persons; crimes committed using firearms, explosives or other violent instruments; and serious crimes against national security, the right to freely develop personality and the public health.

The law shall establish the cases in which the judge can revoke liberty granted to the individuals subjected to trial.

The term to issue the association order may be extended only at the request of the accused, according to the procedure set forth by the law. Prolonging the detention shall be sanctioned by penal law. The authority in charge of the establishment where the accused is shall attract the judge’s attention if it does not receive a copy of the detention order or the extension request in the term indicated above as soon as the term ends. If the authority does not receive the detention order within the next three hours, the accused shall be freed.

Every proceeding will treat only the crime or crimes mentioned in the detention order. If within the course of proceedings, another crime appears, it shall be charged on a separate investigation. Charge accumulation may be ordered, if appropriate.

In the event that, after the detention order has been issued for an organized crime charge, the accused evades the justice or is transferred to a foreign judge, the trial and the expiry date of the criminal action will be suspended.

Treatment during the arrest or imprisonment, any annoyance without legal justification, any tax or contribution in jails, constitute an abuse which the law shall correct and the authorities shall repress.

Article 20

Criminal proceedings will be oral and adversarial. It shall be ruled by the principles of open trial, contradiction, concentration, continuity and contiguity.

1. General principles:
   1. Criminal proceedings shall aim elucidation of the facts, innocent person’s protection, preventing impunity and compensate the damages that the crimes had motivated.
   2. In every hearing, a judge must be present. The judge cannot delegate to somebody else the submission and evaluation of evidence, which shall be done in a free and logic manner.
   3. Only the evidence submitted in the hearing shall be used for the sentence. The law shall establish the exceptions for the above and the pertinent requirements in case that the nature of the evidence requires prior evaluation.
   4. The trial shall be carried out before a judge who has not previously handled the case. All arguments and evidence shall be presented in a public, contradictory and oral manner.
   5. The accuser must provide the evidence necessary to demonstrate defendant’s guilt according to the criminal types. Both parties are equal during the proceeding.
   6. No judge can talk about the trial with one of the parties without the presence of the other one, taking always into account the principle of contradiction, except for the cases predicted by this Constitution.
   7. Criminal proceeding can be terminated in advance, provided that the defendant agrees and according to the law. If the defendant, voluntarily and aware of the consequences, acknowledges his guilt and there is enough evidence to corroborate the charges, the judge shall call to a sentence hearing. The law shall establish the benefits granted to the defendant in case he accepts his guilt.
   8. The judge shall convict only when the guilt of accused is certain.
   9. Any evidence obtained by violating the defendant’s fundamental rights shall be null and void.
   10. These principles shall be observed also in the preliminary hearings.
2. Defendant’s rights
   1. The defendant is innocent until proven guilty through a sentence issued by a judge.
   2. The accused has the right to remain silent. From the moment of his arrest, the defendant shall be informed about the charges against him and his right to keep silent, which cannot be used against him. All forms of intimidation, torture and lack of communication are forbidden and shall be punished by the law. Any confession made without the assistance of a defender shall have no weight as evidence.
   3. Every arrested person has the right to be informed of the grounds of arrest and of his rights at the moment of his arrest and while appearing before the Public Prosecution Service or a judge. In the case of organized crimes, the judicial authority can authorize to keep the accuser’s name in secret.The law shall establish benefits for the accused or convicted person who provides effective assistance in the investigation of felonies related to organized crime.
   4. All witnesses and any other evidence submitted by the defendant shall be admitted within the terms established by law. Judicial authority shall assist the defendant to enforce appearance of those witnesses whose testimony he may request, in the terms set forth by the law.
   5. The defendant shall be judged in an open trial by a judge or court. This provision may be restricted for reasons related to national security, public safety, protection of victims, witnesses and minors, disclosure of legally protected data or when the court considers that it is justified to do so.In the case of organized crime, all acts performed during the investigation shall serve as evidence when they cannot be reproduced during the trial or there is a risk for witnesses or victims. The accused has the right to object or contest such evidence.
   7. The accused shall be tried within a term of four months in the case of crimes punishable with a maximum penalty of two years of imprisonment; and within a term of one year if the crime is punishable with a penalty exceeding such term, unless he requests a longer term to prepare his defense.
   8. Defendant has the right to a lawyer, whom he shall freely choose even from the moment of his arrest. If he does not want a lawyer or cannot appoint one at the moment of request, the judge shall appoint a public defender.The defendant has the right that his lawyer appears in every acts of the process. Defendant’s lawyer is obliged to appear in all the acts related to defendant’s proceeding.
   9. Prison or arrest cannot be extended due to the lack of money to pay lawyer’s fees or any other monetary cause, civil liability or any other similar motive.Preventive prison cannot exceed the time established by law as maximum punishment for the crime in question. In no case, preventive prison shall exceed the term of two years, unless defendant asks for a longer time to prepare his defense. If after said term a sentence has not been pronounced, the defendant shall be freed immediately while the trial continues. However, other precautionary measures may be used.

      The duration of detention will count for the sentence term.

3. Victim’s rights:
   1. The victim has the right to receive legal council, to be informed about the rights that this Constitution grants to his/her favor; and whenever he should so require it, to be informed about the state of the criminal proceedings.
   2. The Public Prosecution Service must receive all the evidence submitted by the victim during the preliminary criminal inquiry as well as during proceedings. The Public Prosecution Service must carry out the necessary steps to assists the victim. The victim has the right to intervene in the trial and to use the legal instruments according to the law.Whenever the Public Prosecution Service does not consider necessary to carry out the steps required by the victim, he must state the grounds of law and fact justifying his refusal.
   3. The victim has the right to receive urgent medical and psychological assistance from the moment the crime was committed.
   4. The victim has the right of reparation. Whenever it should be legally admissible, the Public Prosecution Service is obliged to require redress. The victim also can request such redress by himself. The judge cannot acquit the convict of redress in the case of conviction.The law shall set forth agile procedures to enforce redress sentences.
   5. The judge must keep in secret victim’s identity and other personal data in the following cases: minor involved; rape, trafficking in persons, kidnap, organized crime; and when necessary to protect the victim, always respecting the defendant’s rights.The Public Prosecution Service shall ensure the protection of victims, offended parties, witnesses and all others who take part in the trial. The judges are obliged to oversee proper compliance with this obligation.
   6. The victim can request the necessary precautionary measures to protect his rights.
   7. The victim can contest, before the judicial authority, the Public Prosecution Service’s omissions in the criminal investigation, as well as the resolutions with reservation, lack of exercising, abandonment of criminal prosecution or proceeding suspension when redress has not been completed.

Article 21

It is the Public Prosecution Service’s responsibility to investigate crimes together with police bodies, who shall work under the Public Prosecution Service’s command.

The exercise of the criminal prosecution before the courts is exclusive to the Public Prosecution Service. The law shall define the cases in which civilians can exercise criminal prosecution before the judicial authority.

Only judicial authority can impose penalties, modify them and state the pertinent term for them.

It is the administrative authority’s responsibility to apply the penalties for breaking the regulations. Such penalties may be fines, arrest up to thirty-six hours or community work. The fine may be exchanged by the appropriate incarceration term, which shall never exceed thirty-six hours.

If the offender is a laborer, worker or employee, he may not be fined for an amount exceeding one day of wage.

If the offender is not a salaried worker, the fine shall not exceed the amount equivalent to one day of his income.

The Public Prosecution Service can state exceptions to support exercising of criminal prosecution in the cases and conditions set forth by the Law.

The President of the Mexican Republic can accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, provided that he has obtained Senate’s approval.

Public security is a responsibility of the Federation, the Federal District, the States and the Municipal Councils. Public security includes prevention of crimes, investigation and prosecution, as well as punishment for breaking the administrative rules, according to the law and the respective provisions stated in this Constitution. Performance of the institutions in charge of public security shall be ruled by the principles of legality, objectivity, efficiency, professionalism, honesty and respect to the human rights acknowledged by this Constitution.

Institutions in charge of public security shall be of a civil nature, disciplined and professional. The Public Prosecution Service and the police forces of three government levels shall coordinate each other to guarantee public security. They shall constitute the Public Security National System, which shall be subjected to the following provisions:

1. There should be a regulation for selection, admission, training, continuance, evaluation, appreciation and certification of the members of public security institutions. The Federation, the Federal District, the States and Municipal Councils shall operate and develop public security actions in the field of their respective powers.
2. There should be a criminal and personnel database for the public security institutions. No one can be recruited unless he has been duly certified and registered in the system.
3. There should be public policies intended to the prevention of crimes.
4. The community shall participate in processes like evaluation of the public security institutions and the policies intended to prevent crime.
5. Funds for public security, provided by the federal government to the States and Municipal Councils shall be exclusively used for that purpose.

Article 22

Penalties of death, mutilation, infamy, marks, physical punishments, torture, excessive fines, confiscation of assets, and other cruel punishments are prohibited. Every penalty shall be in proportion to the crime committed and to the legally protected interest.

Appropriation of assets shall not be considered as confiscation when such appropriation is ordered by the authority for the payment of taxes, fines or civil liability. Appropriation in the following cases shall not be deemed as confiscation: a) appropriation of property ordered by the judicial authority under the terms provided by Article 109 in case of illicit enrichment; b) appropriation of seized goods that were abandoned by the owner; and c) appropriation of goods, which ownership has been declared extinct by a sentence. In the event of ownership extinction, there shall be a procedure according to the following regulations:

1. Ownership extinction procedure shall be jurisdictional and autonomous from the criminal proceedings.
2. Ownership extinction procedure shall be applied in cases of organized crime, drug trafficking, kidnapping, car theft, human trafficking and illicit enrichment. Ownership extinction procedure is to be applied to the following goods:
   1. Those goods that are instrument, object or product of a crime, even though criminal responsibility has not been established by a sentence, as long as there is enough evidence to determine that the crime has occurred.
   2. Those goods that are not part, instrument or product of a crime but that have been used to hide or mix crime assets, provided that the elements established in the previous clause have been met.
   3. Those goods that have been used for the perpetration of a crime by a third party, if the owner was aware, but he did not notify to the proper authority or he did not try to stop it.
   4. Those goods that are the property of third parties, but there are enough elements to conclude that they are the product of patrimonial or organized crime, and the accused of such felonies behaves like the owner.
3. The affected person can use the appropriate legal instrument to demonstrate the licit origin of the goods, the good faith and the ignorance about misuse of the goods.

Article 23

No criminal trial shall have more than three instances. No one can be tried twice for the same crime, whether he was acquitted or convicted. Acquitting form the instance is prohibited.

Article 24

Every person has the right to have freedom of ethical convictions, of conscience and of religion, and to have or to adopt, as the case may be, the one of her preference. Such freedom includes the right to participate, individually or collectively, in both public and private ceremonies, worship or religious acts of the respective cult, as long as they are not a felony or a misdemeanor punished by law. No person is allowed to use these public acts of religious expression with political ends, for campaigning or as means of political propaganda.

Congress cannot dictate laws that establish or abolish any given religion.

Ordinarily, all religious acts will be practiced in temples, and those that extraordinarily are practiced outside temples must adhere to law.

Article 25

The State shall command the development of the Nation to: be integral and sustainable; strengthen national sovereignty and democracy; and, through competitiveness, fostering economic growth, employment rates and a fair distribution of income and wealth, to allow the full exercise of liberty and dignity to individuals, groups and social strata, which security is protected by this Constitution. Competitiveness shall be understood as those conditions necessary to generate increased economic growth while promoting investment and job creation.

The State shall promote the stability of public finances and of the fiscal system to create favorable conditions for economic growth and employment. The National Development Plan, the States and Municipals plans shall follow this principle.

The State shall plan, conduct, coordinate and direct national economic activity and shall carry out the regulation and promotion of the activities required by public interest within the frame of liberties established by this Constitution.

The public, social and private sectors shall contribute to the national economic development, with social responsibility, without detriment to other forms of economic activity that contribute to the development of the country.

The public sector shall exclusively be in charge of those strategic areas established in Article 28, paragraph fourth of the Constitution. The Federal Government shall at all times keep ownership and control over agencies and public productive corporations that have been established. In the case of planning and control of the national power system, the public power transmission and distribution systems, as well as the exploration and exploitation of oil and other hydrocarbons, the Nation shall be empowered to carry on those activities pursuant to paragraphs sixth and seventh of Article 27 of this Constitution. In the aforementioned cases, a law shall establish the rules concerning the administration, organization, functioning, procurement and other legal acts to be executed by the State-owned companies, as well as the remuneration regime for the personnel, to guarantee its efficiency, efficacy, honesty, productivity, transparency and accountability in accordance with best practices; the law shall also determine other activities that they may carry out.

Likewise, the State may, alone or together with the social and private sectors, stimulate and organize such areas, which are a priority for development, in accordance with the law.

Social and private sector enterprises shall be supported and fostered under criteria of social equity, productivity and sustainability, subject to the public interest and to the use of the productive resources for the general good, preserving them and the environment.

The Law shall establish mechanisms to facilitate organization and expansion of economic activity of the social sector: farming cooperatives (ejidos), workers’ organizations, cooperatives, rural communities, enterprises which are majority or exclusively owned by workers and, in general, all the different social organizations for production, distribution and consumption of such goods and services that are necessary for society.

The law shall promote and protect economic activities carried out by private parties and it shall also generate those conditions necessary to foster private sector growth leading to the benefit of national economic development, promoting competitiveness and implementing a national policy aimed at industrial development that shall include sectorial and regional components, according to the terms set forth by this Constitution.

Article 26

1. The State shall organize a democratic planning system to support national development, which shall provide solidity, dynamism, competitiveness, continuity and equity to economic growth for the political, social and cultural independence and democratization of the nation.National objectives included in this Constitution shall determine national planning. National planning shall be democratic and deliberative. Through the democratic participation mechanisms, the planning system shall collect the different aspirations and demands from the whole society to include them into the development programs and to the National Development Plan. All the programs carried out by the federal government must be subjected to the National Development Plan.

   The law shall empower the President of the Republic to establish the appropriate procedures of popular participation and consultation for the national democratic planning system, as well as the criteria to prepare, implement, control and assess the development plan and programs. The law shall determine which agencies shall be responsible for the planning process and shall also determine the basis upon which the President of the Republic shall coordinate, through agreements with state governments and through agreement with private parties, the activities intended to prepare and implement the National Development Plan. The National Development Plan shall take into consideration the continuity and necessary adaptations of the national policy for the industrial development, paying attention to sectorial and regional considerations.

   The law shall define the intervention of the Mexican Congress in the democratic planning system.

2. The State shall have a National System of Statistical and Geographical Information, which shall provide official data. All data contained in this system shall be used mandatorily for the Federation, the States, the Federal District and the Municipal Councils, according to the law.The National System of Statistical and Geographical Information shall be ruled and coordinated by an organism, which shall have technical, and management autonomy, legal personality and its own assets. Such organism will have the necessary powers to regulate data collection, processing and publication of information.

   The organism shall have a Board of Government composed by five members, one of them shall be the chairman of both the board and the organism. The five members shall be designated by the President of the United Mexican States and approved by the Senate, or by the Permanent Committee during recess.

   The law shall define the organization and functioning of the National System of Statistical and Geographical Information, according to the principles of access to information, transparency, objectivity and independence. The law also shall establish the requirements to become a member of the board, as well as the tenure term and the staggered renewal of the members.

   The members of the board may be removed only due to a serious cause. They cannot have any other job, position or assignment, except for unpaid services in educational, scientific, cultural or altruistic institutions. Board members shall be subjected to that established in the Title Four of this Constitution.

3. The State shall establish a National Council for the Evaluation of the Social Development Policy, that shall be an autonomous entity with legal personality and own assets. This Council shall be responsible for the poverty measurement and the evaluation of programs, objectives, goals, actions of the policies related to social development, the Council may also issue recommendations according to the terms established by law, which also states the coordination mechanisms between this entity and the federal, local and municipal authorities to exercise its functions.The National Council for the Evaluation of the Social Development Policy shall be formed with one president and six councilors that shall be Mexican citizens with recognition for their work in the private or social sector, the academia or by their professional merits. They shall have at least ten years of experience in the social development sector and they must not be affiliated with any political party or have been a candidate for public office through electoral process. The Councilors shall be appointed by two thirds of the present members of the Chamber of Representatives, according to the procedures established by law. The Mexican President may object the appointment within ten business days, if the President does not present any objection, the person appointed shall occupy the office of Councilor. Every four years, the two Councilors with higher seniority shall be substituted unless they were nominated and appointed for a second term in office.

   The President of the National Council for the Evaluation of the Social Development Policy shall be appointed in the same manner as the previous paragraph and shall be in office for five years after this period, he/she could be reelected for one more period and may only be removed in the terms stated in the Fourth Title of this Constitution.

   Each year, the President of the National Council for the Evaluation of the Social Development Policy shall present a report of activities before both Chambers of the Congress according to the law provisions.

Article 27

The property of all land and water within national territory is originally owned by the Nation, who has the right to transfer this ownership to particulars. Hence, private property is a privilege created by the Nation.

Expropriation is authorized only where appropriate in the public interest and subject to payment of compensation.

The Nation shall at all time have the right to impose on private property such restrictions as the public interest may demand, as well as to regulate, for social benefit, the use of those natural resources which are susceptible of appropriation, in order to make an equitable distribution of public wealth, to conserve them, to achieve a balanced development of the country and to improve the living conditions of rural and urban population. Consequently, appropriate measures shall be issued to put in order human settlements and to define adequate provisions, reserves and use of land, water and forest. Such measures shall seek construction of infrastructure; planning and regulation of the new settlements and their maintenance, improvement and growth; preservation and restoration of environmental balance; division of large rural estates; collective exploitation and organization of the farming cooperatives; development of the small rural property; stimulation of agriculture, livestock farming, forestry and other economic activities in rural communities; and to avoid destruction of natural resources and damages against property to the detriment of society.

The following elements are the property of the Nation: all natural resources of the continental shelf and the seabed of the islands; all minerals and substances that are in seams, layers, masses or deposits and that have a nature different from the components of the soil, such as minerals from which metals and metalloids are extracted; beds with gemstones or salt; salt mines formed by sea water; the products derived from rock breaking, when their exploitation requires underground works; minerals or organic deposits susceptible to be utilized as fertilizers; solid mineral fuels; petroleum and all solid, liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons; and the space located over national territory, according to the extension and terms established by International Law.

The following elements are the property of the Nation, according to the extension and terms established by International Law: waters of the territorial sea; internal sea waters; waters of lagoons and estuaries permanently or intermittently connected with the sea; waters of natural lakes which are directly connected with streams constantly flowing; river and affluent waters, from the site where the first permanent, intermittent or torrential waters start to flow, to the mouth in the sea, lakes, lagoons or estuaries owned by the nation; waters of the continuous or intermittent currents and their direct or indirect affluent, whenever their bed serves as border of national territory or between two states, or when they flow from one state to another or cross the country’s border; waters of lakes, lagoons or estuaries, which vessels, zones or shores are crossed by borderlines dividing one or more states or between the country and a neighboring country, or when the shoreline serves as a border between two states or between the country and a neighboring country; waters of springs flowing from beaches, maritime areas, streams, vessels or shores; waters extracted from mines; and the internal beds, shores and banks. Underground waters may be freely extracted by artificial works and may be appropriated by the owner of the land. However, when the public interest so requires or whenever other uses are affected, the President of the Republic may regulate extraction and use of underground waters and, even, establish prohibited zones. The same criteria shall apply to other waters belonging to the nation. Any other waters not included in the foregoing list, shall be considered as an integral part of the land through which they flow. Nevertheless, if such waters are located in two or more properties, their use shall be considered as public, complying with provisions issued by the states.

In the cases referred to in the two previous paragraphs, the dominion by the State shall be inalienable and imprescriptible, and the exploitation, use or development of those resources, be that by individuals or by corporations incorporated in accordance with Mexican laws, shall not be carried out but through concessions granted by the Federal Executive in accordance with the rules and requirements so established by the laws; exception be made of broadcasting and telecommunications concessions, which shall be granted by the Federal Telecommunications Institute. Legal norms regarding works or efforts to exploit minerals and others substances referred to in paragraph four shall govern the execution and oversight of those carried out, or that ought to be carried out as of their entry into force, regardless of the granting date of the concessions, and the breach thereof shall result in the termination of the concessions. The Federal Government is empowered to establish and revoke national reserves. Such declarations shall be made by the Executive in those cases and under the conditions set forth by the laws. No concession shall be granted in the case of radioactive minerals. The Nation shall exclusively carry out the planning and control over the national electric system, and over the power transmission and distribution utilities. No concession shall be granted in these activities, notwithstanding the power of the State to execute contracts with private parties in accordance with the laws, which shall determine the ways in which private parties may participate in all other activities related to the electric power industry.

In the case of petroleum and solid, liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons found underneath the surface, dominion by the Nation shall be inalienable and imprescriptible, and no concessions shall be granted. In order to obtain revenue for the State and contribute to the long-term development of the Nation, the Sate shall explore for and exploit oil and other hydrocarbons through assignment to productive state-owned companies, or through contracts to be executed with them or private parties, in accordance with the implementing law. To fulfill the purpose of said allocations and contracts, the productive state-owned companies may enter into contracts with private parties. In any event, subsoil hydrocarbons shall remain property of the Nation and it shall be so expressed in the allocation and contracts.

Only the State can use nuclear minerals to generate nuclear energy. The State shall regulate the use of nuclear minerals. Nuclear energy will be used only for peaceful goals.

The Nation has sovereign rights and jurisdiction on the exclusive economic zone, situated outside and beside the territorial sea. The exclusive economic zone stretches from the seaward edge of the country’s territorial sea out to two hundred nautical miles. In cases where said zone should produce a superposition over the exclusive economic zones of other countries, fixing of the boundaries shall be done through agreements with such countries.

The legal capacity to own Nation’s lands and waters shall be governed by the following provisions:

1. Only Mexicans by birth or naturalization and Mexican companies have the right to own lands and waters, and to obtain exploitation licenses for mines and waters. The State may grant the same right to foreigners, provided that they agree before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to consider themselves as Mexicans regarding such property and not to invoke the protection of their governments in reference to said property, under penalty of forfeiting the property in favor of the country. Foreigners cannot acquire properties within the zone that covers one hundred kilometers along the international borders and fifty kilometers along the beach.The State can authorize foreign States to acquire real estate for their embassies or legations in the same city where federal government powers reside, in accordance to the principle of reciprocity and to the national public interest and at consideration of the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
2. Religious associations, created in accordance with the terms provided in Article 130 and its regulatory law, can acquire, possess or manage properties essential for their religious activities.
3. Public and private charitable institutions, devoted to public assistance, scientific research, education, mutual assistance to their members, or any other lawful purpose cannot acquire other real estate than that which is essential to fulfill their objective, according to the regulatory law.
4. Corporations based on shares can own rural lands, but only in the extension necessary to fulfill their objective.The maximum area of land that such class of companies can hold in ownership for agricultural, livestock farming or forest activities is equivalent to twenty five times the limits specified in section XV of this Article. The law shall determine the capital structure and minimum number of shareholders so that the lands owned by each shareholder do not exceed the limits established for small rural property. All individual rural properties, based on shares, will be cumulative for this purpose. Likewise, the law shall establish the requirements for the participation of foreigners in said corporations.

   The law shall establish the registration and control procedures required to comply with the provisions of this section.

5. Duly authorized banks, in accordance with the credit institutions law, can have capital imposed on urban and rural properties, but they cannot hold in property or in management, any more real estate than that which is entirely necessary to fulfill their direct objective.
6. The Federal District, the States and Municipal Councils shall have full legal capacity to acquire and possess all the real estate required for public services.Federal and State laws, according to their respective jurisdiction, shall establish the cases in which expropriation of private property is necessary for the public welfare, issuing the corresponding statement. Compensation for expropriation shall be based on the property value registered in the records of the land registry or Tax collector’s office, regardless such value has been defined by the owner or by the State and tacitly accepted by owner when paying taxes. Only the increased or decreased value of said private property, due to any improvements or deteriorations made after the tax appraisal, can be subjected to assessment by experts and to judicial resolution. Objects, which value is not fixed in tax collector’s office, can also be subjected to assessment by experts and to judicial resolution.

   The Nation shall execute the actions established in this Article through judicial proceedings. During said proceedings and under the appropriate court’s order, which shall be issued within one month, administrative authorities shall occupy, manage, auction or sell the lands or waters in question along with their appurtenances. In no case may such actions be revoked by the corresponding authorities before the execution sentence is pronounced.

7. The legal capacity of farming cooperatives and communal land is recognized and their ownership over the land is protected, whether for human settlements or for productive activities.The law shall protect the wholeness of the indigenous groups’ lands.

   In order to promote respect and strengthening of the community life of farming cooperatives and communal land, the law shall protect the lands for human settlements and shall regulate the uses of communal lands, forests and waters. The State shall implement actions to improve the quality of life of in such communities.

   The law shall regulate the exercise of indigenous peoples’ rights over their land and of joint-title farmers over their parcels, respecting their will to adopt the best conditions for the use of their productive resources. The law shall establish the procedures whereby the members of a cooperative and indigenous people may: associate among themselves or with the State or with third parties; grant the use of their lands; transfer their land rights to other members of their rural community, in the event of farming cooperative. The law shall also set forth the requirements and procedures whereby the cooperative assembly shall grant their members private rights over land. In cases of transfer of ownership, the right of preference set forth by the law shall be respected.

   Within a same rural community, no member of a cooperative can hold land exceeding five percent of the total land belonging to the farming cooperative. Land ownership must always adjust to the restrictions established in section XV.

   The general assembly is the supreme authority of the farming cooperative or indigenous community, within the organizational structure and powers granted by law. The communal property commission is a body democratically elected according to the terms provided by the law. It is the representative organ of the farming cooperative and the one responsible to carry out the assembly’s decisions.

   Restitution of lands, forests and waters to rural communities shall be done according to the terms provided in the law.

8. The following actions are null and void:
   1. All appropriation of lands, waters and mountains from towns, villages, settlements or communities, made by political chiefs, governors or any other local authority in contravention of the law published on June 25, 1856, and other applicable laws and provisions;
   2. All concessions, arrangements or sales of lands, waters or mountains, made by the Secretariat of Public Works, the Department of the Treasury or any other federal authority from the first day of December, 1876, to this date, which have illegally invaded farming cooperatives, indigenous land or lands of any other kind belonging to towns, villages, hamlets or communities.
   3. All demarcation procedures, transactions, transfers or auctions performed during the period mentioned in previous paragraph and made by companies, judges or federal or state authorities, which have illegally invaded farming cooperatives, indigenous land or lands of any other kind belonging to towns, villages, hamlets or communities.The only lands excepted from the nullity herein mentioned are those which have been distributed in accordance with the Law published on June 25, 1856, and have been owned for more than ten years, provided that the area does not exceed fifty hectares.
9. Division or distribution made with error or vice among neighbors of a rural settlement may be annulled at the request of the three quarters of the neighbors who possess one quarter of the lands in question; or at the request of one quarter of the neighbors who possess three quarters of the lands in question.
10. (Repealed by the decree published on January 6, 1992)
12. (Repealed by the decree published on January 6, 1992)
13. (Repealed by the decree published on January 6, 1992)
14. (Repealed by the decree published on January 6, 1992)
15. Large rural estates are prohibited in the United Mexican States.Small agricultural property is defined as the land which area does not exceed one hundred hectares of irrigated or damp soil per person, or the equivalent in other kind of soil.

    Equivalence: one hectare of irrigated soil equals two hectares of seasonal soil equals four hectares of good quality pastureland equals eight hectares of forest, mountain or arid pastureland.

    The following properties are also considered as small agricultural property: a) up to one hundred and fifty hectares per person when the ground is dedicated to cotton cultivation if the lands are irrigated; b) up to three hundred hectares when dedicated to cultivate banana, sugar cane, coffee, henequen, rubber, palm, grapevine, olives, quinine, vanilla, cacao, agave, prickly pear or fruit trees.

    Small livestock property is defined as the area that does not exceed the land necessary to maintain up to five hundred heads of big livestock or the equivalent in small livestock per person, in accordance with the law and with the fodder capacity of the soil.

    When the owners or users improve the quality of land by reason of irrigation, drainage or any other works, the land will still be considered as small agricultural property, even if it exceeds the maximum limits established for good quality lands, provided that the requirements established by the law are met.

    If the owner or user of a small livestock property improves the land and uses it for agricultural purposes, the area so utilized shall not exceed the limits mentioned under paragraphs second and third of this section corresponding to the quality of said lands before the improvement.

16. (Repealed by the decree published on January 6, 1992)
17. Federal and State Congresses shall enact laws establishing the procedures to transfer and divide out into plots large areas of land exceeding the limits set forth under sections IV and XV of this Article.Excess land shall be partitioned and sold by the owner within a term of one year from the date of notification. If at the end of such term the excess land has not been transferred, it shall be sold by public auction. Under equal conditions, the right of preference established in the Statutory Law shall be respected.

    Local laws shall organize the family estate, establishing which properties and goods must compose it. Family estate shall be inalienable and unencumbered

18. All contracts and concessions executed by previous governments, since 1876 to date, which have resulted in monopolization of national lands, waters and natural resources, under one sole person or company are declared subject to review, and the President of the Republic is empowered to declare any of them null and void whenever they imply a serious damage to public interest.
19. Based on this Constitution, the State shall establish the measures required to provide agrarian justice in a prompt and honest manner, in order to guarantee legal certainty in land ownership. The State shall provide legal advisers for farm workers.All conflicts that could arise or are pending between two or more communities related to land limits or land ownership, are under federal jurisdiction. The law shall establish agrarian courts vested with autonomy and full jurisdiction, which shall be made up of judges proposed by the President of the Republic and approved by the Senate or by the Permanent Commission during recess period.

    The law shall establish an agency that provides agrarian justice to peasant farmers.

20. The State shall provide good conditions to achieve total development in rural communities, for the purpose of creating jobs, guaranteeing welfare of the peasant population and their participation in national development. The State shall stimulate agricultural, livestock and forestry activities for optimal uses of the land through infrastructure works, supply of raw materials, credits, training and technical support. The State shall also issue the statutory law for planning, organization, industrialization and marketing of agricultural and livestock production, since these are activities of public interest.The comprehensive and sustainable rural development referred to in the previous paragraph shall also include, among its aims that the State shall guarantee the sufficient and timely supply of basic nourishment established by law.

Article 28

In the United Mexican States, all monopolies, monopoly practices, state monopolies and tax exemptions are prohibited. Protectionist policies are also prohibited.

Consequently, the law shall severely punish, and authorities shall efficaciously police, all concentration or hoarding of articles deemed of necessary consumption in one or few hands, which purpose is to generate a price increase; every contract, procedure or combination of producers, industrialists, traders or service entrepreneurs resulting in restraint of free trade and competition among themselves, or forcing consumers to pay unreasonable prices, and, in general, any action resulting in an exclusive, unwarranted advantage in favor of one or many determined persons with prejudice for the general public or a social class.

The laws shall establish bases to set maximum prices for articles, commodities or products considered as essential for the country’s economy or for popular consumption. Such laws shall also define distribution of said articles, commodities and products, in order to prevent that unnecessary or excessive intermediation cause shortage or price increases. The law shall protect and promote the organization of consumers for the better protection of their interests.

The functions carried out by the State in an exclusive manner in the following strategic economic sectors shall not be considered monopolistic: post, telegraph, radiotelegraphy; radioactive minerals and nuclear power generation; planning and control of the national power system and the public power transmission and distribution systems; the exploration and exploitation of oil and other hydrocarbons, pursuant to paragraphs six and seven of the 27th Article of this Constitution, as well as any other activity expressly determined by the laws issued by Congress. . Satellite communications and railroads are priority areas for national development, in accordance with Article 25 of this Constitution. The State shall protect national security and sovereignty when exercising its ruling power and, when granting concessions or permits, it shall maintain or establish its dominion of the means of communication in accordance with applicable laws.

The State shall have the agencies and companies required to efficiently manage the strategic and priority areas, where it may participate alone or together with the private and social sectors.

The State shall have a Central Bank that shall be autonomous in the exercise of its functions and its administration. Its primary objective shall be to attain the stability of the purchasing power of the national currency, strengthening the guiding role of the State with regard to national development. No authority can order the Central Bank to provide financing. The Sate shall have a public trust denominated Mexican Oil Fund for Stabilization and Development, which fiduciary agent shall be the Central Bank, that will be tasked, under the terms set forth by the laws, with receiving, managing and distributing revenues—taxes excluded—derived from allocations and contracts referred to in paragraph seven of Article 27 of this Constitution.

Those functions carried out exclusively by the State through the Central Bank in the strategic areas of coining and note printing, shall not be deemed monopolistic. The Central Bank shall regulate exchange rates, as well as banking and financial services, in accordance with the law and with the intervention of any competent authorities. The Central Bank shall have all the necessary powers to carry out said regulation and the enforcement thereof. The management of the Central Bank shall be entrusted to the persons appointed by the President of the Republic with the consent of the Senate or the Permanent Committee, as the case may be. They shall hold office for the terms which duration and staggered sequences are best suited to the autonomous exercise of their duties; they may only be removed for a serious cause and they cannot hold any other employment, position or assignment, except for those in which they act in the name of the Bank, and those unpaid activities carried out in educational, scientific, cultural or charitable organizations. The persons in charge of the Central Bank may be subjected to impeachment in accordance with the provisions established in the Article 110 of this Constitution.

The Executive Branch shall have coordinated regulatory agencies for the energy sector, denominated National Hydrocarbons Commission and Energy Regulatory Commission, in accordance with the terms set forth by the law.

Unions and workers associations will not be considered monopolies, which have been constituted to protect their own interests. Producers’ cooperatives or associations will not be considered monopolies either, provided that their objective is to sell directly in foreign markets the domestic and industrial products which are the main source of wealth in the region where they are produced or which are not essential products. Such associations shall always be under the supervision or protection of federal or state government and shall obtain the previous authorization from the appropriate legislative body. Such legislative bodies can repeal any authorization granted to constitute the associations in question, by themselves or by the President of the Republic’s request.

Privileges granted for a given period of time to authors and artists for them to produce their pieces of work and to inventors and those individuals who improve inventions will not be considered monopolies.

The State can grant concessions for the provision of public services or for the exploitation and use of property owned by the Nation, except for the exceptions established by the law. The laws shall set forth the requisites and conditions to guarantee that licensed services will be efficient and goods will be used for society’s interest.

The laws shall prevent concentration of State property in private hands. Concession of public services shall be carried out according to this Constitution.

Subsidies can be granted to economic key activities, provided that such benefits general and temporary and do not impact substantially the Nation’s finances. The State shall supervise application of subsidies and evaluate their results.

The State shall have a Federal Economic Competition Commission, which shall be autonomous, shall have legal entity and its own assets, and shall guarantee free competition and maximized turnout to the marketplace, as well as prevent, investigate and police monopolies, monopolistic practices, economic concentrations and any other restrictions to the efficient operation of markets, in accordance with the Constitution and the law. The Commission shall have all the necessary powers to: efficaciously accomplish its task, including the power to issue orders to remove competition barriers and free access to the marketplace; regulate access to essential raw materials, and order divestment of certain assets, rights, stakes or shares of economic agents, in the proportion needed to remove anti-competitive effects.

The Federal Telecommunications Institute is an autonomous body, with legal entity and its own assets, tasked with the efficient development of broadcasting and telecommunications in accordance with this Constitution and the provisions set forth by the laws. To that end, it shall regulate, promote and oversee the use, enjoyment and exploitation of the radio electric spectrum, the networks and the performance of broadcasting and telecommunication services, as well as the access to active and passive infrastructure and to other essential materials, to guarantee what this Constitution provides in Articles 6 and 7.

The Federal Telecommunications Institute shall also: be the authority with competence on economic competition for the broadcasting and telecommunications sectors, where the Institute shall exclusively exercise the powers established in this article and the laws in favor of the Federal Economic Competition Commission; regulate participants in those markets asymmetrically to efficaciously eliminate barriers to competition and free access to the marketplace; set limits to the national and regional concentration of frequencies, concessions and cross-ownership as a means to control several media units with broadcasting and telecommunication concessions serving a given market or geographical coverage area; and order the divestment of assets, rights or quotas necessary to secure compliance of these limits, to guarantee what this Constitution provides in Articles 6 and 7.

The Institute shall have the power to grant, revoke, as well as authorize assignment, changes of control, ownership or operation of legal entities in connection with broadcasting and telecommunications concessions. The Institute shall notify the Secretary of the corresponding jurisdiction prior to rendering a decision, who may issue a technical opinion on the matter. Concessions may be for commercial, public, private or social use, the latter including community and indigenous use, in accordance with their purpose, and subject to the principles set forth in Articles 2, 3, 6 and 7 of this Constitution. The Institute shall set the amount of consideration to be paid for the award of these concessions, as well as for the authorization of services related to them, after receiving the opinion of the treasury authority. The opinions aforementioned shall not be binding and shall be issues within thirty days; once that term is elapsed, should the opinions be still pending, the Institute shall proceed with the corresponding proceeding.

All concessions of radio electric spectrum shall be granted through a public call for bids, to ensure maximum participation, taking into consideration concentration phenomena to the detriment of public interest, and securing the least price level for final consumers; the economic factor shall not have controlling weight in the concession award decision-making process. Concessions for public or social use will be nonprofit and shall be awarded directly in accordance with the law and under conditions that shall guarantee transparency in the proceedings. The Federal Telecommunications Institute shall keep a public registry of all concessions. A statute shall provide for an effective punitive scheme that will include, as grounds for revoking the concession, among others, the breach of final resolutions in cases of anti-competitive conduct. When revoking a concession the Institute shall serve prior notice to the Federal Executive to allow, eventually, the exercise of its power as needed to secure the continuity of service.

The Federal Telecommunications Institute shall guarantee that the Federal Government is awarded with all necessary concessions for the discharge of its functions.

The Federal Economic Competition Commission and the Federal Telecommunications Institute shall be independent agencies in their functioning and decision-making processes, professional in the performance of their roles, and impartial in their proceedings; and shall be subject to the following [rules and standards]:

1. They shall issue their resolutions with full independence;
2. They shall execute their budget autonomously. The House of Representatives shall guarantee sufficient; budgetary allocations to allow a timely and efficacious discharge of their competences
3. They shall enact their respective organizational charters with a special majority vote;
4. They may only issue general administrative regulations for the discharge of their regulatory functions in their respective sectorial competence;
5. The law shall guarantee, within each agency, the separation between the investigative and the adjudicating authorities in those proceedings of a contentious nature;
6. Their boards shall meet the transparency and access to information standards. They shall deliberate en banc, and shall decide by majority vote; their sessions, agreements and resolutions shall be public with the exceptions to be determined by law;
7. The general regulations, acts or omissions by the Federal Economic Competition Commission and the Federal Telecommunications Institute may only be subject to challenge through indirect constitutional adjudication [amparo indirecto], and shall not be subject to injunctive suspension. Only in those cases in which the Federal Economic Competition Commission imposes fines or orders divestment of assets, rights, quotas or shares, these decisions shall only be enforced once the constitutional injunction proceedings, if any, is resolved. Resolutions rendered through adjudicative proceedings may only be challenged if they are final, on the grounds of breaches committed during the proceedings or in the resolution itself; general regulations applied during the proceeding may only be challenged through the constitutional injunction initiated against such general regulation. Specialized judges and courts pursuant to Article 94 of this Constitution shall hear constitutional injunctions. No ordinary or constitutional appeals shall be admitted against interlocutory acts;
8. The heads of the agencies shall present to the Executive and Legislative Branches an annual working plan and an account of their activities every trimester; they shall appear before the Senate annually, and before both Chambers of Congress pursuant to Article 93 of this Constitution. The Federal Executive may request to either Chamber of Congress the appearance before them of the heads of these agencies;
9. The law shall promote governmental transparency in these agencies under principles of digital government and open data;
10. Remuneration to be perceived by Commissioners shall be adjusted in accordance with Article 172 of this Constitution;
11. Commissioners may be removed from their posts by the Senate with a two-thirds vote of its present members, on the grounds of gross fault in the discharge of their functions and in accordance with the provisions of the law; and
12. Each agency shall have an Internal Comptroller whose head shall be appointed by the House of Representatives by a two-thirds vote of its present members, in accordance with the terms set forth by the law.

The governing bodies of both the Federal Economic Competition Commission and the Federal Telecommunications Institute shall have seven Commissioners, including the Presiding Commissioner, to be appointed staggered upon the proposal of the Federal Executive with the consent of the Senate.

The Presiding Commissioner of each agency shall be selected by the Senate among the Commissioners with a two-thirds vote of its present members, to serve for a four-year term, with only one reelection. When the appointment of the Presiding Commissioner falls upon a Commissioner whose term is to finish before the four-year term, then the presidency shall only last for the remainder of his term as Commissioner.

Commissioners must meet the following requirements:

1. Be a natural born Mexican citizen and enjoy both civil and political rights;
2. Be of 35 years of age;
3. Enjoy a good reputation and have no record of convictions for voluntary felony or crime with a sentence of more than one year;
4. Have a graduate degree;
5. Have at least three years of distinguished professional, public service or academic track-record substantially connected to economic competition, broadcasting or telecommunications, as it may correspond;
6. Substantiate, in accordance with this provision, the technical knowledge required to discharge the responsibilities of the position;
7. Not having been appointed, during the year prior to the appointment, Secretary of State, Attorney General of the Republic, senator or representative either at the federal or local level, Governor of any state, or Head of Government of the Federal District; and,
8. In the case of the Federal Economic Competition Commission, not having had employment, appointment or managerial positions in companies that had been subject to any proceeding leading to sanctions before said agency in the previous three years. In the case of the Federal Telecommunications Institute, not having had employment, appointment or managerial positions in companies owned by commercial or private concessionaires or entities related to them, subject to the regulations of said Institute in the previous three years.

Commissioners shall refrain from performing under any other employment, work, public or private commission, except for teaching positions; they shall refrain from hearing cases in which they may have a direct or indirect stake pursuant to applicable law, and shall be subject to the accountability regime set forth in Title Four of this Constitution and impeachment. A statute shall regulate the modality under which Commissioners may have contact with people representing regulated economic agents to discuss matters of their competence.

Commissioners shall serve for nine years and under no circumstances will they be appointed for a second term. In case of vacancy of any position, a replacement shall be appointed to complete the remainder of the term, pursuant to the procedure set forth in this Article.

Candidates to the position of Commissioner shall substantiate their compliance with the requirements set forth above before an Evaluation Committee formed by the heads of the Bank of Mexico, the National Institute for Educational Evaluation and the National Geographical and Statistical Institute. To that end, the Evaluation Committee shall hold hearings every [time] a vacancy opens, shall decide by majority vote and shall be presided by the most senior head of agency, who will have a quality vote.

The Committee shall issue public calls to fill the vacancy. It shall verify candidates’ compliance with the requirements set forth in this Article and shall further administer a test of knowledge in the field to be taken by those candidates that meet them. The proceedings must observe transparency, publicity and maximized turnout standards.

To prepare the test on knowledge, the Evaluation Committee shall consider the opinion of at least two higher education institutions and shall follow the best practices in the field.

The Evaluation Committee shall send, to cover each vacancy, a list with a minimum of three and a maximum of five candidates with the highest scores. In case of not reaching the minimum number of candidates, a new public call for candidates shall be issued. The Executive shall select, from among the candidates in the list, the one to be proposed to the Senate for its consent. Consent by the Senate shall be given with a two-thirds vote of the present members, within thirty business days as of the day of filing of the proposal. When in recess, the Permanent Commission shall summon the Senate. In case the Senate rejects the candidate proposed by the Executive, the President of the Republic shall submit a new proposal in accordance with the previous paragraph. This procedure shall be repeated, as many times as needed should new rejections take place, until there is only one candidate approved by the Evaluation Committee in the list, who shall then be directly appointed Commissioner by the Executive.

No act pertaining to the selection and appointment of Commissioners proceedings shall be subject to challenge.

Article 29

In case of invasion, serious breach of the peace or any other event which may place society in severe danger or conflict, only the President of the Republic can suspend, throughout the country or in a certain region, those constitutional rights and guarantees which may constitute obstacles for the State to face the situation easily and rapidly as required by the emergency. For this purpose, the President must obtain the Congress of the Union’s approval, or in the recess, the Permanent Committee’s approval. Such suspension of constitutional rights and guarantees shall be temporary through general provisions, never can a suspension be applied on a single person. If suspension of constitutional rights and guarantees is requested within the period when the Congress is working, it shall grant the necessary authorizations for the President to cope with the situation. However, if suspension is requested during the Congress recess, the Congress will be convened immediately so it can agree about the authorizations required.

However, the decrees enacted under the situations described in the previous paragraph cannot restrict or suspend the exercise of the following rights and principles: the right to non-discrimination, the right to legal personality, the right to life, the right of personal integrity, the right of protection to the family, the right to have a name, the right to have a nationality, the children’s rights, the political rights, the freedom of thought, the freedom of religion, the principles of legality and retroactivity, the prohibition on the death penalty, the prohibition on slavery and servitude, the prohibition of disappearance and torture, nor the judicial guarantees that are necessary to protect these rights and principles.

Restriction or suspension of constitutional rights and guarantees should be based and justified on the provisions established by this Constitution, should be proportional to the danger, and should observe the principles of legality, rationality, notification, publicity and non discrimination.

When the restriction or suspension of the constitutional rights and guarantees ends, because the deadline was met or the Congress so ordered, all legal and administrative measures taken during the restriction or suspension will be void immediately. The President of the Republic cannot make comments to the decree, through which the Congress revokes the restriction or suspension of the constitutional rights and guarantees.

The decrees enacted by the President of the Republic, during the restriction or suspension of the constitutional rights and guarantees, shall be immediately reviewed by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, which shall rule on their constitutionality and validity as soon as possible.