The Senate of the Republic (), constitutionally the Chamber of Senators of the Honorable Congress of the Union (), is the upper house of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. It currently consists of 128 members, who serve six-year terms.

History

A bicameral legislature, including the Senate, was established on 4 October 1824. The Senate was abolished on 7 September 1857 and re-established on 13 November 1874. Under the regime of

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

(the

Porfiriato The Porfiriato or Porfirismo (, ), coined by Mexican historian Daniel Cosío Villegas, is a term given to the period when General Porfirio Díaz ruled Mexico under an Authoritarianism, authoritarian military dictatorship in the late 19th and e ...

: 1876–1910), many seats were given to elites and wealthy people loyal to the regime. During the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

, notably during the brief presidency of Francisco I. Madero, the Senate was left intact with Porfirian sympathizers, who blocked the president's attempts to pass reforms for the Revolution.

Composition

After a series of reforms during the 1990s, the Senate consists of 128 senators: * Two for each of the 32

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

, elected under the principle of relative majority. * One for each of the 32 states, assigned under the principle of first minority (i.e., awarded to the party or coalition with the second highest number of votes in the state). * Thirty-two national senators-at-large, divided among the parties that received at least 3% of the vote in proportion to their share of the national vote. In a senatorial race, each party or coalition nominates two candidates who run and are elected together by direct vote. The party or coalition of the two candidates that won the second highest vote within the state then assigns a senator to occupy the third seat (first minority seat), according to the list of candidates that the party or coalition registered with the

Instituto Nacional Electoral The Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE) (Spanish for ''National Electoral Institute'') (formerly Federal Electoral Institute) (, IFE) is an autonomous, public agency responsible for organizing federal elections in Mexico, that is, those relat ...

(INE). Senators serve six-year terms, running concurrently with the

president of Mexico The president of Mexico (), officially the president of the United Mexican States (), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and ...

's '' sexenio''. Special elections are rare, as substitutes are chosen at every election. Until 2018, the Senate was completely renewed every six years since senators were barred from immediate reelection, but they can now serve a second term. The current composition of the Senate is as follows:

Term

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, it is conventional to refer to each legislature by the

Roman numeral Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, ea ...

of its term. The current session (from 2024 to 2027) is the LXVI Legislatura (''66th Legislature''). Senators are elected to serve during two legislatures, while members of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

serve only one. Thus, current senators (elected in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

of 2 June 2024) serve during the 66th and 67th Legislatures.

Legislatures

A senator holds office for six years for which they were elected (from 1 September of the year of the election to 31 August six years later), divided into two legislatures of three years each. The LXVI Legislature was installed on 1 September 2024, and its term will end on 31 August 2027. Senators were elected to office in the 2024 election for six years and have been in office since 1 September of that year; therefore, they will hold office during both the LXVI Legislature and the LXVII Legislature.

Election of senators

Eligibility requirements

According to the Constitution, senators are the representatives of the nation. Election to the Senate, by any of the mechanisms available, requires the candidate to meet the following requirements: * Be a Mexican citizen by birth, fully exercising their rights. * Be twenty-five years old on election day. * Be a native of the state where the election is held or a resident with an effective residence of more than six months before the election date. * Not be on active duty in the military or have control of the police or rural gendarmerie at least ninety days before the election. * Not be a secretary or undersecretary of state unless the office is definitively resigned at least ninety days before the election. * Not be Minister of the Supreme Court unless the office is definitively resigned three years before the election. * Not be a minister of religion.

Election process

Senators are elected for a six-year term, corresponding to two legislatures, and can be reelected only once for the immediate period. They are elected in two ways: 96 in 32 three-seat constituencies based on the country's states and 32 in a nationwide constituency by proportional representation. In the three-seat constituencies, two seats are allocated to the party receiving the most votes (mayoría relativa) and one seat to the party receiving the second-highest votes (primera minoría).

Last election

Governing bodies

Its internal government has two main instances, namely: * Board: Composed of a chair, three vice-chairs, and four secretaries elected for each regular session of the Senate; the chair is the

president of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...

and is the head and representative of the Chamber. * Political Coordination Board: The true governing body of the Chamber consists of a chair and six members, which always include the coordinators of the different parliamentary factions of political parties represented in the Senate.

Commissions

To deal with legislative affairs, senators form commissions dedicated to a particular issue. The most important committees are interior, constitutional issues, defense, finance, and justice. Each senator belongs to at least three different commissions, and each committee elects a chair and two to five secretaries (according to the commission) to coordinate their work.

Sessions

The two chambers of the Congress of the Union divide their work into two ordinary sessions, the first from 1 September to 15 December and the second from 1 February to 30 April; if necessary, special sessions may be convened to discuss urgent or pertinent matters. The time between the regular sessions is known as recess. There are two recesses: 16 December to 31 January and 1 May to 31 August. During these breaks, the standing committee of the Congress of the Union is installed and serves as the legislature's depository. It comprises 37 members — 19 deputies and 18 senators — appointed by their respective chambers the day before the closing of the regular sessions. The standing committee's sessions are held in the Senate during the first recess and in the Chamber of Deputies during the second recess.

Functions

Among the most important functions of the Senate is to ratify or reject the president's proposals regarding: * Ministers of the

Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (, SCJN) is the Mexican institution serving as the country's federal high court and the spearhead organisation for the judiciary of the Mexican Federal Government. Judges of the SCJN are appointed ...

. * The Attorney General of the Republic. * Heads of autonomous bodies. * Diplomatic representatives (ambassadors and consuls). * Treaties.

Gallery

Image:Mexican Senate.jpg, Former Senate tribune Image:SenateChamberDF.JPG, Former main Senate chamber at the corner of Donceles and Xicoténcatl streets in the historic center of

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Image:SenadoDoncelesDF.JPG, Former Senate offices on Donceles Street

Notes

References

External links

Official website of the Mexican Senate
{{Coord, 19, 26, 11.57, N, 99, 8, 19.37, W, region:MX, display=title 1824 establishments in Mexico 1874 establishments in Mexico Congress of the Union

Landmarks in Mexico City Buildings and structures in Mexico City State archives Architecture in Mexico Federal chambers