Congress of Mexico

Type
 Regent
 Established
 Preceded by
 Seats
 Term
 Last Election

The **Congress of the Mexican Empire** (Spanish: **Congreso del Imperio Mexicano**), often referred to simply as the **Congress of Mexico**, is the unicameral national legislature of Mexico and the highest elected body in the country.

Under the Mexican Constitution, the Congress of the Mexican Empire is structured as a unicameral legislature, with the sole power to legislate and scrutinise the operations of the government. Whilst guaranteed permission to exist by the constitution, the congress sits at the permission of the emperor, and thus can be suspended or dismissed at will by the emperor. At the beginning of each congressional session, the emperor gives a speech before the newly-elected congresspeople setting out the direction that their government will take over the session - in the instance that the government changes during a congressional term or a significant event of national importance occurs, the emperor may choose to give a further speech to congress by requiring their presence at the Imperial Palace.

Members of Congress, frequently referred to by the postnominal MC, are directly elected by the Mexican population in simultaneous constituency elections using the first-past-the-post method during general elections. The Congress of Mexico is elected for a term of six years, though it may be dissolved during its mandate to allow for snap elections by the emperor, either by request of the prime minister or on the emperor's personal prerogative. During the First Mexican Empire, the mandate of the congress to sit was directly connected to the Mexican crown, and thus the demise of the throne (upon either death or abdication) necessitated the dissolution of congress and the holding of new elections - this only occurred once, in August 1843. Under the Republic of Mexico, congressional terms were fixed at four years and no mechanism existed for snap elections, though snap elections were held unconstitutionally in October 1881. Under the Second Mexican Empire, the Regency Period, and the Third Mexican Empire, whilst congress sits at the pleasure of the emperor, the power to sit is derived from the crown rather than the individual power of the emperor and is exercised by virtue of the emperor's possession of the crown - thus, whilst individual monarchs may vacate the throne, the crown remains constant and consequently congress is not dissolved upon the demise of the throne.

By convention, the prime minister of Mexico and all members of the cabinet are members of the Congress of Mexico, and are subsequently subject to direct scrutiny by the legislature through debates, committees, and congressional questions. Congress also retains the power to pass a vote of no-confidence in the government, in which the entire cabinet would be compelled to resign; a successful vote of no-confidence also triggers a general election, unless an alternative government can win a vote of confidence within six weeks of the first vote.

The Congress of Mexico has existed in several different forms on-and-off since the independence of Mexico from the Spanish Empire on September 28, 1821. In its first iteration, the congress was appointed by Emperor Agustín I to act as an advisory body whilst the new state stabilised. After a degree of internal stability emerged by the late 1820s, the first elections to the chamber were held in 1828 - however, the congress still had little independent power and was reliant upon the monarch to directly pass legislation. After a coup in October 1852, the congress was dissolved a month later and remained dissolved for the first two decades of the Republic of Mexico. In 1872, the congress was restored in a provisional form following the First Mexican Revolution as the **Committee Representing the Congress of Mexico**, which was later retroactively recognised as the 7th Congress of Mexico. From 1874 to 1881, the Congress of Mexico was significantly more powerful than at any other point due to the strong separation of powers under the 1873 constitution, before returning to being a weakened legislative body under the Second Mexican Empire.