What was Mexico's 1917 Constitution, and what did Article 27 say?
The Constitution of 1917 and Article 27
La Constitución de 1917 y el artículo 27
5 February 1917. Venustiano Carranza, having beaten Villa and sidelined Zapata, called a constituent congress to Querétaro in December 1916 to revise the liberal constitution…
Where: Mexico
What happened
Venustiano Carranza, having beaten Villa and sidelined Zapata, called a constituent congress to Querétaro in December 1916 to revise the liberal constitution of 1857. The text promulgated on 5 February 1917 made public education secular, free and compulsory (Article 3), declared that land, water and the wealth of the subsoil belong originally to the nation, which may grant them to private owners, restore village lands as ejidos and break up great estates (Article 27), and gave workers the eight-hour day, a minimum wage and the right to strike (Article 123). It was the first constitution anywhere to write social rights into fundamental law. Carranza did little to apply the land articles; later governments did, and the 1917 text, much amended, still governs Mexico.
Say it
La Constitución de 1917 dice que la tierra y el petróleo son de la nación.
The 1917 Constitution says the land and the oil belong to the nation.
Why it matters
Article 27 is the legal root of Mexico's land reform and of the nationalisation of oil in 1938; the whole text gave the Spanish-speaking world a model of social constitutionalism that others copied. 'Ejido' and 'la Carta Magna' are everyday Mexican words because of it.
Read about it
Connected
- Benito Juárez and La Reforma (1855–15 July 1867)
- Benito Juárez and La Reforma (1855–15 July 1867)
- The Mexican Revolution begins (20 November 1910–1920)
- The Mexican Revolution begins (20 November 1910–1920)
- Mexican muralism is born at San Ildefonso (c. 1922–1926)
- The Second Republic (14 April 1931)
- The Second Republic (14 April 1931)
Sources
- La Constitución de 1917 — Nueva Escuela Mexicana Digital (SEP)