Constitutional Change in Mexico
Mexican democracy is at a crossroads. In the center stage of the current dynamic and challenging times lies the Mexican Constitution, one of the oldest and most amended in the world. Enacted in 1917, it was the product of a social revolution. During its long life, the Mexican Constitution was functional for the long period of authoritarian hegemonic-party regime, but it was also key in the protracted transition to democracy. The constitution is now the locus of acute tensions between legitimate demands for inclusion, social and economic, and the stability of the rules for accessing and exercising political power. The destination of Mexican democracy is uncertain, but the patterns and ways of more than a hundred years of constitutional change reveal surprising clues.