''Las Siete Leyes'' (, or Seven Laws was a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

that fundamentally altered the organizational structure of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, away from the federal structure established by the Constitution of 1824, thus ending the

First Mexican Republic The First Mexican Republic, known also as the First Federal Republic ( es, Primera República Federal, link=no), was a Federal republic, federated republic, under the Constitution of 1824. It was a nation-state officially designated the United M ...

and creating a

unitary republic A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only th ...

, the Centralist Republic of Mexico. Formalized under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Antonio López de Santa Anna on 15 December 1835, they were enacted in 1836. They were intended to centralize and strengthen the national government. The aim of the previous constitution was to create a political system that would emulate the success of the United States, but after a decade of political turmoil, economic stagnation, and threats and actual foreign invasion, conservatives concluded that a better path for Mexico was centralized power. The ''Siete Leyes'' were revised in 1843, making them more workable, but also placing power entirely in the hands of Santa Anna.Michael P. Costeloe, "Siete Leyes (1836)" in '' Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture'', vol. 4, p. 25. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996. #The 15 articles of the first law granted

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

to those who could read Spanish and had an annual income of 100

pesos The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named "dollar" ...

, except for male

domestic worker A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

s, who did not have the right to vote, nor did women of any class. #The second law allowed the President to close

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 a ...

and suppress the

Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation ( es, Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN) is the Mexican institution serving as the country's federal high court and the spearhead organisation for the judiciary of the Mexican Federal Go ...

. Military officers were not allowed to assume this office. #The 58 articles of the third law established a

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

Congress of Deputies and Senators, elected by governmental organs. Deputies had four-year terms; Senators were elected for six years. #The 34 articles of the fourth law specified that the Supreme Court, the

Senate of Mexico The Senate of the Republic, ( es, Senado de la República) constitutionally Chamber of Senators of the Honorable Congress of the Union ( es, Cámara de Senadores del H. Congreso de la Unión), is the upper house of Mexico's bicameral Congres ...

, and the Meeting of

Ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

each nominate three candidates, and the lower house of the legislature would select from those nine candidates the President and

Vice-president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

, #The fifth law had an 11-member Supreme Court elected in the same manner as the President and Vice-President. #The 31 articles of the sixth Law replaced the federal republic's nominally-

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

" states" with centralized "

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

", fashioned after the French model, whose governors and legislators were designated by the President. #The seventh law prohibited reverting to the pre-reform laws for six years. Las Siete Leyes ended in 1846, when the

1824 Constitution The Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1824 ( es, Constitución Federal de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos de 1824) was enacted on October 4 of 1824, after the overthrow of the Mexican Empire of Agustin de Iturbide. In the new Fr ...

was restored and the second federal period began.

References

External links

Digitized copy of: ''Bases y leyes constitucionales de la Republica Mexicana, decretadas por el Congreso general de la nación en el año de 1836'', U. S. Library of Congress.

Text of the Seven laws
{{Authority control 1835 in Mexico 1836 in Mexico 1843 in Mexico Constitutions of Mexico Legal history of Mexico Political history of Mexico 1835 in law