What is the election procedure followed in Mexico? Why can’t it be called democratic?
Answers
Answer:Federal Level
The federal government of Mexico is made up of three branches of government: the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
The executive branch is headed by the president who is also the chief of state and of the army. The legislative branch consists of the Union of Congress and is divided into an upper and lower chamber. The judicial branch is headed by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation and does not participate in federal elections.[1]
Executive branch
The president of Mexico is elected for a six-year term by direct election of the population. The candidate who wins a plurality of votes is elected president. No president can serve more than a single term in office, therefore every presidential election in Mexico is a non-incumbent election.[1]
Mexico does not have an office of vice president.
Eligibility
Candidates for president must be at least 35 years old. They must be Mexican citizens by birth, as must one of their parents. They must have been residents of Mexico for at least 20 years. They also cannot have been either the governor of a state or the chief of government of Mexico City for six months prior to the election.[2]
Legislative branch
The lawmaking authority of Mexico is vested in the Congress of the Union (Congreso de la Unión) which is composed of two chambers.
Chamber of Deputies
The Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados) has 500 members, elected for a three-year term. 300 deputies are elected in single-seat constituencies by plurality. The constituencies are divided among the 32 states based on population. The remaining 200 deputies are elected by proportional representation in five multi-state, 40-seat constituencies.[1][3]
To be eligible to place candidates in the multi-seat districts a party must have candidates in at least 200 of the 300 single-seat districts and must win at least 2% of the vote in those elections. The 200 PR-seats are distributed based on the percentage of the total national votes earned by each party without taking into account the 300 plurality-seats (parallel voting). However, since 1996, a party cannot get more seats overall than 8% above its result nationally (i.e., to win 50% of the legislative seats, a party must win at least 42% of the vote nationwide). There are three exceptions on this rule: first, a party can only lose PR-seats due to this rule (and no plurality-seats); second, a party can never get more than 300 seats overall (even if it has more than 52% of the vote nationally); and third, a party can exceed this 8% rule if it wins the seats in the single-member districts.[1] Deputies may serve up to four consecutive terms.[2]
Chamber of Senators
The Chamber of Senators (Cámara de Senadores) has 128 members, elected for a six-year term. 96 of these seats are in three-seat constituencies (corresponding to the nation's 31 states and Mexico City, the former Federal District which is the national capital). In these constituencies, two seats are awarded to the party with the most votes and one seat is awarded to the party with the second most votes. The remaining 32 seats are awarded by proportional representation on a nationwide basis.[1][3] Senators may run for a consecutive term.[2]
Eligibility
Candidates for the Chamber of Senators must be registered voters at least 25 years old. They also must have been born in, or been residents of the states they are running in for at least six months.[2] Electoral magistrates, the Secretary of the Electoral Tribunal, and the Executive Secretary and Executive Director of the INE must separate themselves from their positions for at least three years before seeking legislative office.[4]
State and municipal level
At the local level, each of Mexico's 31 constituent states elects a governor to serve a six-year term; they also elect legislative deputies who sit in state congresses, and municipal presidents (presidentes municipales, or mayors). Mexico City, the national capital, elects a head of government in lieu of a mayor, city assemblymen in lieu of state congressional deputies, and borough mayors in lieu of municipal mayors.
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