Multicultural project for govt comparing Mexico and U.S.

1. Alternative Foundations:
Multicultural Research Project
Us Government Honors

2. Castaneda Background
 My family immigrated to the U.S from Mexico
 They lived in a small town called El Aseradero in Guadalajara
 My parents, and even those before them, lived poorly with out electricity or
running water as farmers and struggling to support many children
 In 1995 Mexico was in a severe recession caused by the sudden deflation of the
Mexican peso against the U.S dollar, This was called The Mexican Peso (or Tequila)
Crisis
 To try to escape the poor living conditions as a farmer and the recession my father
left Mexico that year in 1995
 When my father was settled in and had a stable job he brought my mother into the
U.S with him
 I was then born a year later in 1996

3. Mexico History
 Mexico has been around for more than 10,000 years
 It had great civilizations as early as 1500 B.C
 The first major civilization was the Olmec
 Other great civilizations included the Toltec, Mayan, and the Aztec
 The Aztec were conquered by Spanish explorer Hernan Cortex in 1521
 Francisco de Montejo conquered the remaining Mayan civilization in1526
 Mexico became part of the viceroyalty of New Spain
 In 1821 rebels negotiated independence from Spain
 in 1823 a new congress declared Mexico a republic

4. Mexico’s Current Government
 Mexico today is federal republic
 Federal Republic – is a federation, the central government with a republican form
of a government
 Their government has three branches: executive, legislative and judicial
 Each of these branches has some authority to act on it’s own

5. Mexico's Three Branches
 Executive Branch ~Mexico’s executive branch is composed of the president and his
cabinet
~Presidents are directly elected by a simple majority of registered voters in the thirty-
one states and the Federal District
 Legislative Branch
~consists of two chambers, Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies
~both chambers are responsible for the discussion and approval of legislation and the
ratification of high-level presidential appointments
 Judicial Branch
~is divided into federal and state systems
~The Mexican legal system is based on Spanish civil law with some influence of the
common law tradition
~ the judiciary seldom attempts to stop the will of the president on major issues

6. Mexican Citizen Rights
 Mexican Citizenship is constituted by two main ways, either by being born on
Mexican Territory or through naturalization
 Mexican Citizens have the rights to:
~vote in all elections
~be elected in all elections
~gather or associate freely to participate in the political affairs of the nation
~enlist in the Mexican Army or the Mexican National Guard
~exercise the right of petition

7. Mexican Citizen Rights Disclaimer
 Mexico differentiates between naturalized citizens and natural-born citizens
 The Mexican constitution prohibits naturalized citizens from serving in certain
positions:
~The Mexican military during peacetime
~Policeman
~Captain, pilot, or crew member on any Mexican-flagged vessel or aircraft
~President of Mexico
~Member of the Congress of Mexico
~Member of the Supreme Court of Mexico
~Governor of a Mexican state
~Mayor or member of the legislature of Mexico City

8. Mexican Citizen Roles
 The Mexican Constitution states that every citizen has obligations they must fulfill
 Obligations listed are:
~take their children school to attend preschool, primary and secondary education;
as well as military education as and if required by the law
~present themselves in the days and hours designated by the courts in which they
reside to receive civic and military instruction
~enlist and serve in the National Guard
~to pay taxes

9. Constitution of Mexico
 Mexico has used a number of different constitutions in the past
 The current used constitution, Constitution of Mexico, was approved in 1917 during the
Mexican Revolution
 The constitution is founded on seven ideals:
1. A declaration of rights
2. Sovereignty of the nation
3.Separation of powers
4.Representative government
5.A federal system
6.Constitutional remedy
7.Supremacy of the state over the Church
 It is organized into articles and articles relating to the same things are grouped into
titles
 The Constitution of Mexico has about 40 articles

10. How Mexico compares to the U.S
 Citizen Roles
It appears that the roles of Mexican citizens appear to be oriented around the
welfare of the family where as in the U.S our roles are benefit the community as a
whole. Both nations require it’s citizens to protect their nation.
 Citizen Rights
Mexico excludes naturalized citizens from serving in military, government, and
some other positions. U.S naturalized citizens share all the same rights as natural
born citizens with the exemption that they can not run for president.

11. How Mexico compares to the U.S
cont.
 Elements of the Constitution
~The Mexican and Us constitution seem to have the same components
~They both talk about citizen rights, how to govern, and issues of the country
~They are just structured differently
~The us constitution has the bill of rights, the articles and the amendments. In the
Constitution of Mexico it contains their citizens rights and amendments are
organized in the articles
 Founding Principles
Both constitutions were founded on the idea and desire to create a better country
for their people. The drafting of their constitutions made that possible.

12. Overall Final Comparison and Summary
The country where my family comes from and the country where I grew up aren’t to
different fundamentally. Both countries give me rights that are protected by law. In
each country I have to be a good citizen. The governments aren’t ran much differently
than each other. The biggest difference being a citizen here in the U.S than in Mexico
is that I have more rights and protection from my government. If it wasn’t for these
rights and protections my family wouldn’t still be living in the U.S.