1. Introduction
a. History and background
Mexico is currently the 13th largest economy in the world (11th
if considered by purchasing power parity standards). It is also the
only member of the OECD from Central and South America.
Mexico is a federal republic with a so-called growing democracy,
after having been ruled by only one party for over 70 years, with
little room for democracy and citizen involvement in social matters
until the year 2000, when for the first time in modern history, an
opposition party won the elections for Presidency.
Mexico’s geographical and commercial links to the United States
and its strong dependency on income derived from oil exports mean
that it was very badly hit by the recent world financial crisis.
Its macroeconomic statistics seem to be stabilising, however, and
the outlook for economic recovery is improving.
b. Legal system
Mexico’s legal system is based on the civil law, following the
model of the Napoleonic code, but also influenced by Roman legal
legacy for many of its institutions. The powers in Mexico are
divided between a Judiciary, a Legislative and an Administrative
department; each one working under an Assembly of representative
Deputies and Senators, a Supreme Court and a President,
respectively.
Being a federation, Mexico has one Constitution and each of the
32 states have their own (which is subject to the federal
Constitution). Therefore, Mexico regulates most of its affairs on
at least two levels, the general federal level and the lower state
regulation level. Administrative regulations normally fall within
the lower administrative units.