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Mexico
Women in decision-making positions
47%
Members of local deliberative bodies are women (10,875 elected women)
No woman is Head of State/Government
50%
Parliamentarians are women
42%
Ministers are women

Government organization

Mexico is a federal republic with three spheres of government: federal, state, and local.

One tier of central government, one tier of intermediate government and one tier of local government.
Federal government
  • Head of State: The President is directly elected by voters.
  • Head of Government: The President is the Head of State and Head of Government.
  • Legislative body: Congress is a bicameral legislature, with an upper house (the Senate) and a lower house (the Chamber of Deputies). Members of Congress are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Cabinet is composed of the Secretaries of State, who are appointed by the President.
State-level government
  • Legislative body: The Congress of the State (in states) and the Congress of the City of Mexico (in Mexico City) are unicameral legislatures. Members of the Congress of the State and the Congress of the City of Mexico are elected directly by voters.
  • Executive body: The Governor of the State (in states) or the Head of Government (in Mexico City) serves as the executive body for the state/ Mexico City and appoints a cabinet.
Local government
  • Organization: Mexico is organized into one tier of local government consisting of 2,446 municipalities and the 16 boroughs of Mexico City.
  • Autonomies: Local government is endowed with the autonomy to issue regulations and decrees pertaining to public works and urban development, economic development, and public services, to manage its own patrimony, and to administer its finances freely, including setting taxes and obtaining revenue for its assets.
  • Ministerial oversight: The Secretariat of the Interior is responsible for federal government oversight on local government.

Overview of local government

Local government composition
Municipalities (municípios)

Deliberative body: The municipal council (ayuntamiento) is composed of the municipal president (presidente municipal), aldermen (regidores), and trustees (sindicos). The municipal president is elected to preside over the municipal council; the municipal president is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The municipal president is the executive body of the municipality.

Territorial demarcations (demarcaciones territoriales)

Deliberative body: The borough council (concejo) is composed of the mayor and ten elected members.

Executive body: The mayor (alcalde) is the executive body at the borough level.

Local government elections
Electoral system

Electoral system for deliberative bodies: mixed (majority/plurality (single non-transferable vote) and proportional representation (closed list)) or proportional representation

  • Sixty percent of council members are elected using a majority electoral system and forty percent of council members are elected using a proportional electoral system. No more than sixty percent of the total councilors can represent the same political party.
  • In some states, council members are elected through a proportional representation system.

Electoral system for executive bodies: majority/plurality (first-past-the-post)

  • The mayors and presidents are elected by a majority/plurality system.

Sources: Constitution of the State of Aguascalientes, article 66; Constitution of the State of Baja California, 1953, article 78;  Constitution of the State of Baja California Sur, 1975, article 135; Constitution of the State of Campeche, 1917, article 102; Constitution of the City of Mexico, 2017, article 53; Constitution of the State of Chiapas, 2016, article 80; Constitution of the State of Chihuahua, 1950, article 126; Constitution of the State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, 1918, article 158-K; Constitution of the State of Colima, 1917, article 92; Constitution of the State of Durango, 2013, article 147; Constitution of the State of Guanajuato, 1917, article 109; Constitution of the State of Guerrero, 1917, article 174;  Constitution of the State of Hidalgo, 1920, article 124; Constitution of the State of Jalisco, 1917, article 73; Constitution of the State of Mexico, 1917, articles 114 and 117; Constitution of the State of Michoacán, 1918, article 113; Constitution of the State of Morelos, 1930, article 112; Constitution of the State of Nayarit, 1917, article 107; Constitution of the State of Nuevo Leon, 1917, article 172; Constitution of the State of Oaxaca, 1917, article 113; Constitution of the State of Puebla, 1917, article 102; Constitution of State of Queretaro, 2008, article 35; Constitution of the State of Quintana Roo, 1975, article 134; Constitution of the State of San Luis Potosi, 1918, article 114; Constitution of the State of Sinaloa, 1922, article 112; Constitution of the State of Sonora, 1917, article 130; Constitution of the State of Tabasco, 1919, article 64; Constitution of the State of Tlaxcala, 1918, article 90; Constitution of the State of Veracruz, 1917, article 68; Constitution of the State of Yucatan, 1918, article 76; Constitution of the State of Zacatecas, 1998, article 118.

Quotas

Gender quotas: Legislated candidate quotas, ranking/ placement, sanctions

  • Candidate lists must respect gender parity and be composed of candidates listed alternating by sex.
  • If the lists do not comply with parity, the Local Public Bodies will have the power to reject the registration of candidates that do not respect the principle. Lists are given a non-extendable period of time to replace these candidates or the list is rejected.

Additional quotas: Youth

  • In Mexico City, lists must include candidates between 18 and 29 years of age.

Sources: Electoral Law of Mexico, 2014, article 232; Constitution of the City of Mexico, 2017, article 53; Constitution of the State of Chiapas, 2016, article 80; Constitution of the State of Oaxaca, 1917, article 113; Constitution of the State of San Luis Potosi, 1918, article 36; State Electoral Laws

Term of elections
  • Term length: 3 years
  • Last local elections: 2022
  • Next local elections: 2023
Electoral management body

State Electoral Commissions

National legal framework on local government
National legal framework
  • Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, 1917 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the City of Mexico, 2017 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Aguascalientes, 1917 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Baja California 1953, (amended through 2022); 
  • Constitution of the State of Baja California Sur, 1975 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Campeche, 1917 (amended in 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Chiapas, 2016 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Chihuahua, 1950 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, 1918 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Colima, 1917 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Durango, 2013 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Guanajuato, 1917 (amended through 2020)
  • Constitution of the State of Guerrero, 1917 (amended through 2022); 
  • Constitution of the State of Hidalgo, 1920 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Jalisco, 1917 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Mexico, 1917 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Michoacán, 1918 (amended through 2022);  
  • Constitution of the State of Morelos, 1930 (amended through 2021);
  • Constitution of the State of Nayarit, 1917 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Nuevo Leon, 1917 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Oaxaca, 1917 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Puebla, 1917 (amended through 2021);
  • Constitution of State of Queretaro, 2008 (amended through 2021);
  • Constitution of the State of Quintana Roo, 1975 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of San Luis Potosi, 1918 (amended through 2020);
  • Constitution of the State of Sinaloa, 1922 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Sonora, 1917 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Tabasco, 1919 (amended through 2021);
  • Constitution of the State of Tamaulipas, 1921 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Tlaxcala, 1918 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Veracruz, 1917 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Yucatan, 1918 (amended through 2022);
  • Constitution of the State of Zacatecas, 1998 (amended through 2021);
  • Municipal Law of the State of Aguascalientes, 2003 (amended through 2022);
  • Municipal Law of the State of Baja California Sur, 2007 (amended through 2021);
  • Law of Mayoralties of The City of Mexico, 2018 (amended through 2022);
  • Code of Institutions and Electoral Procedures of the City of Mexico, 2017 (amended through 2022);
  • Law of the Congress of the City of Mexico, 2018 (amended through 2022);
  • Municipal Law of the State of Durango, 1999 (amended through 2022);
  • Municipal Law of the State of Hidalgo, 2010 (amended through 2022);
  • Municipal Law of the State of Nayarit, 2001 (amended through 2022);
  • Municipal Law of the State of Oaxaca, 2010 (amended through 2022);
  • Municipal Law of the State of Quintana Roo, 2004 (amended through 2022);
  • Municipal Law of the State of San Luis Potosi, 2000 (amended through 2022);
  • Municipal Law of the State of Sinaloa, 2000 (amended through 2022);
  • Municipal Law of the State of Tabasco. 2003 (amended through 2021);
  • Municipal Law of the State of Tlaxcala, 2001 (amended through 2017);
  • Municipal Law of the State of Veracruz, 2001 (amended through 2021);
  • Municipal Law of the State of Zacatecas, 2016 (amended through 2021).
Constitutional provisions on local government

Local governments are mentioned in Articles 2, 41, and 73 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1917 (amended through 2022), in relation to the political autonomy of direct local elections, the administrative autonomy of allocating resources, and the financial autonomy of imposing taxes.

Legislative provisions on local government

Congress and the state congresses are responsible for establishing the legal framework on local government. The key pieces of legislation that regulate local government are the state constitutions and municipal laws, which have the shared objective of establishing the general basis of integration and organization of the municipal territory, population, government, and administration.

Sources:

1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2023.

2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 3 October 2023.

3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2023.

4. IPU and UN Women: Data on share of women in ministerial positions as of 1 January 2023.

5. Information on local government organization as of 1 January 2023.