Country name: conventional long form: United Mexican States
conventional short form: Mexico
local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos
local short form: Mexico

Government type:
federal republic

Capital:
name: Mexico City (Distrito Federal)
geographic coordinates: 19 26 N, 99 08 W
time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October
note: Mexico is divided into three time zones

Administrative divisions:
31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (Veracruz), Yucatan, Zacatecas

Independence:
16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 16 September (1810)

Constitution:
several previous; latest approved 5 February 1917; amended many times, last in 2012 (2012)

Legal system:
civil law system with US constitutional law theory influence; judicial review of legislative acts

International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Enrique PENA NIETO (since 1 December 2012); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Enrique PENA NIETO (since 1 December 2012)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general, the head of the Bank of Mexico, and senior treasury officials require consent of the Senate
elections: president elected by popular vote for a single six-year term; election last held on 1 July 2012 (next to be held July 2018)
election results: Enrique PENA NIETO elected president; percent of vote - Enrique PENA NIETO (PRI) 38.21%, Andres Manuel LOPEZ OBRADOR (PRD) 31.59%, Josefina Eugenia VAZQUEZ Mota (PAN) 25.41%, other 4.79%

Legislative branch:
bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 seats allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are elected by popular vote; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote; members to serve three-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held on 1 July 2012 for all of the seats (next to be held on 1 July 2018); Chamber of Deputies - last held on 1 July 2012 (next to be held on 5 July 2015)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRI 52, PAN 38, PRD 22, PVEM 9, PT 4, Movimiento Ciudadano 2, PANAL 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRI 208, PAN 114, PRD 100, PVEM 33, PT 19, Movimiento Ciudadano 16, PANAL 10

Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacion (consists of 21 ministers or judges and 5 supernumerary judges)
judge selection and term of office: judges nominated by the president and approved by the Senate; judges serve for life
subordinate courts: federal level includes Electoral Tribunal, circuit, collegiate, and unitary courts; state level and district level courts

Political parties and leaders:
Citizen's Movement (Movimiento Ciudadano) [Luis WALTON Aburto]