Why Are Constitutional Amendments in Mexico so Frequent?

This research investigates the reasons for the overwhelming frequency of constitutional amendments in Mexico despite the widely held academic views of its constitution's rigidity. The article introduces a novel model highlighting the core of the Mexican Constitution. This model serves as a foun...

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Main Authors: George Tsebelis, Edwin Atilano-Robles
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2024-12-01
Series:Journal of Politics in Latin America
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X241254400
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author George Tsebelis
Edwin Atilano-Robles
author_facet George Tsebelis
Edwin Atilano-Robles
author_sort George Tsebelis
collection DOAJ
description This research investigates the reasons for the overwhelming frequency of constitutional amendments in Mexico despite the widely held academic views of its constitution's rigidity. The article introduces a novel model highlighting the core of the Mexican Constitution. This model serves as a foundational lens to understand the interplay between political institutions, preferences of political actors, and amendment provisions. The application of this model attributes the frequency of amendments to three different reasons: first, the length and inconsistency of the Mexican Constitution; second, the institutional requirements for amendments; third, the political consensus prevailing in the Mexican political scene (crucial instances, such as the onset of multipartyism with concertacesión and pivotal reforms to Articles 27 and 73, offer deeper context) makes amendments feasible. A comprehensive analysis of the 68 constitutional amendments from 2000 to 2013 corroborates these expectations concerning institutional thresholds, coalition dynamics, and amendment significance.
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1868-4890
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series Journal of Politics in Latin America
spelling doaj-art-b5afb2b2c0b64f01af964a6da6fd44fa2024-12-03T17:03:19ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Politics in Latin America1866-802X1868-48902024-12-011610.1177/1866802X241254400Why Are Constitutional Amendments in Mexico so Frequent?George Tsebelis0Edwin Atilano-Robles1 Mexico City, MexicoThis research investigates the reasons for the overwhelming frequency of constitutional amendments in Mexico despite the widely held academic views of its constitution's rigidity. The article introduces a novel model highlighting the core of the Mexican Constitution. This model serves as a foundational lens to understand the interplay between political institutions, preferences of political actors, and amendment provisions. The application of this model attributes the frequency of amendments to three different reasons: first, the length and inconsistency of the Mexican Constitution; second, the institutional requirements for amendments; third, the political consensus prevailing in the Mexican political scene (crucial instances, such as the onset of multipartyism with concertacesión and pivotal reforms to Articles 27 and 73, offer deeper context) makes amendments feasible. A comprehensive analysis of the 68 constitutional amendments from 2000 to 2013 corroborates these expectations concerning institutional thresholds, coalition dynamics, and amendment significance.https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X241254400
spellingShingle George Tsebelis
Edwin Atilano-Robles
Why Are Constitutional Amendments in Mexico so Frequent?
Journal of Politics in Latin America
title Why Are Constitutional Amendments in Mexico so Frequent?
title_full Why Are Constitutional Amendments in Mexico so Frequent?
title_fullStr Why Are Constitutional Amendments in Mexico so Frequent?
title_full_unstemmed Why Are Constitutional Amendments in Mexico so Frequent?
title_short Why Are Constitutional Amendments in Mexico so Frequent?
title_sort why are constitutional amendments in mexico so frequent
url https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X241254400
work_keys_str_mv AT georgetsebelis whyareconstitutionalamendmentsinmexicosofrequent
AT edwinatilanorobles whyareconstitutionalamendmentsinmexicosofrequent