Independence:
16 September 1810 (from Spain)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 16 September (1810)

Constitution:
5 February 1917

Legal system:
mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial
review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
with reservations

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa (since
1 December 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state
and head of government
head of government: President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa
(since 1 December 2006)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of
attorney general requires consent of the Senate
elections: president elected by popular vote for a single six-year
term; election last held 2 July 2006 (next to be held 1 July 2012)
election results: Felipe CALDERON elected president; percent of vote
- Felipe CALDERON (PAN) 35.89%, Andres Manuel Lopez OBRADOR (PRD)
35.31%, Roberto MADRAZO (PRI) 22.26%, other 6.54%

Legislative branch:
bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the
Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by popular
vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of
each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or
Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly
elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200
members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote,
also for three-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2006 for all of the seats (next
to be held 1 July 2012); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2 July 2006
(next to be held 5 July 2009)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party - PAN 52, PRI 33, PRD 29, PVEM 6, CD 5, PT 2, PNA 1; Chamber
of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PAN
206, PRD 127, PRI 103, PVEM 18, CD 17, PT 16, other 13

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia Nacional
(justices or ministros are appointed by the president with consent
of the Senate)

Political parties and leaders:
Convergence for Democracy or CD [Luis MALDONADO Venegas];
Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Mariano PALACIOS Alcocer];
Labor Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Guti