No. 384.
Mr. Morgan
to Mr. Frelinghuysen.
Legation of
the United States,
Mexico, October 10, 1882.
(Received October 27.)
No. 513.]
Sir: As you are aware, the constitution of Mexico
provided that, in case of a vacancy occurring in the office of President of
the Republic, the vacancy was to be filled, until another President should
be elected, by the chief justice of the federal supreme court.
The constitution has been recently amended in this regard, the amendment
having been published for the first time in the Diario
Oficial of the 7th instant. I transmit it to you herewith, together
with a translation thereof.
By this amendment it is provided that the Senate, as well as the permanent
commission of Congress, shall, on the last day of each month, elect a
president and vce president of their respective bodies, who shall not be
eligible to re-election until one year shall have elapsed from the
expiration of the month for which they were primarily elected. None but
native-born Mexican citizens are eligible to the presidency or
vice-presidency of either of the before-mentioned bodies.
In case of death or inability, permanent or transitory, of the
President-elect, or during the term of office for which he was elected, the
president, or, in his default, the vice-president, of the Senate or of the
permanent commission for the month preceding the death or inability of the
President, shall act as President until a new election is held or the
disability is removed.
In case of the death of the President or of his absolute inability to act, a
new election is to be ordered, to take place within sixty days from the
accession of the party designated to take his place, such party not being
eligible to be elected President.
I am, &c.,
[Page 618]
[Inclosure in No.
513.—Translation.]
Extract from Diario Oficial of October 7,
1882.
Section First.
The President of the Republic has seen proper to address to me the
following decree:
Manuel Gonzalez, constitutional President of the United Mexican States,
to its inhabitants, makes known that the Congress of the Union has seen
proper to decree as follows:
The Congress of the United Mexican States, in the exercise of the
authority conferred upon it by article 127 of the federal constitution,
and with the previous approbation of a majority of the legislatures of
the States, declares that articles 79, 80, and 82 of the constitution
are amended as follows:
- Art. 79. In case of the temporary or
absolute inability of the newly elected President to qualify, the
citizen who has discharged the duties of president or vice-president
of the Senate or of the permanent commission thereof during the
recess thereof during the month preceding the one in which the
inability occured shall discharge the duties of the executive power
of the Union.
- (a)
- The president and vice-president of the Senate and of the
permanent commission cannot be re-elected to these posts
until after the expiration of one year from the period of
their having ceased to discharge the duties thereof.
- (b)
- If the period for the session of the senate or permanent
commission commences in the second fifteen days of a month,
the inability of the President shall be supplied by the
president or vice-president who presided over the Senate or
permanent commission during the first fifteen days of the
month in which the inability occurred.
- (c)
- The Senate and permanent commission shall, on the last day
of each and every month, re-elect their president and
vice-president. For these positions the permanent commission
shall elect, alternately, for one month, two deputies, and
for the following, two senators.
- (d)
- When the inability of the President of the Republic is
absolute, the officer who, under the provisions of the
constitution, replaces him, shall, within the fixed delay of
fifteen days, order a new election, which shall take place
in three months, and in accordance with the provisions of
article 76 of this constitution. The President ad interim cannot, in this election,
be elected to fill the vacancy.
- (e)
- If, in case of death, or from any other cause, the party
substituted for the President of the Republic by this
amendment cannot discharge the duties which have devolved
upon him, these duties shall be performed by the citizen who
acted as president or vice-president of the Senate or of the
permanent commission during the-month anterior to the one in
which he maybe called upon to discharge the duties of the
office.
- (f)
- In case the absolute inability of the President of the
Republic should occur within six months of the expiration of
the constitutional term for which he was-elected, the person
elected to succeed him shall finish the term.
- (g)
- To be eligible to the position of president or
vice-president of the Senate or of the permanent commission,
it is necessary that the person shall be a native-born
Mexican citizen.
- (h)
- In case the inability of the President occurs at a time
when the permanent commission and the Senate are convened in
extraordinary session, the president of the permanent
commission shall take his place under the provisions of this
article.
- (i)
- The vice-president of the Senate or of the permanent
commission shall enter upon the discharge of the duties
imposed upon him by this article in case of the absolute
inability of the president of the Senate or of the permanent
commission; and should this inability be temporary only,
then during the time only when the inability
continues.
- (j)
- The newly-elected President shall enter upon the discharge
of his duties sixty days, at the latest, after his election.
Should the Chamber of Deputies not be in session, it shall
be convened in extra session to count the votes, within the
delay above-specified.
- Art. 80. In case of the absolute
inability of the President, the term of office of the newly-elected
President shall be computed to have commenced on the 1st of December
of the year previous to his election, provided he has not taken
possession of his office under the provisions of article 78.
- Art. 82. If, from any cause, the
election for President has not taken place and been published on the
1st of December, when the substitute should qualify, or the person
elected should not be ready to enter upon the discharge of his
duties, the term of the [Page 619]
former incumbent shall cease, and the supreme executive power shall
be vested in the party designated by article 79, as amended, of this
constitution.
transitory article.
The foregoing amendments shall be published and proclaimed throughout the
Republic.
- DUBLAN,
Deputy from the State of
Oaxaca, President.
- M. ROMERO RUBIO,
Senator from the
State of Tobasco, President.
- CARLOS RIVAS,
Deputy for Jalisco,
Vice-President.
- RAFAEL CRAVIATO,
Senator from the
State of Puebla, Vice-President
