Know Thy Neighbor

The Structure of State Governments in the

U.S.-Mexico Border Region
Our Shared History
Early History

 Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821

 All of what is now the US southwest became part of Mexico
 Texas became a republic in 1836
 California declared itself a republic in 1846 for a very short time
TODAY

GDP Rank Country

1 U.S.
2 China
3 Japan
10 U.S.- Mexico Border States
4 Germany
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

 Signed on February 2, 1848

 Established the border at the Rio Grande
 Ceded to the US: California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Colorado and
Arizona and parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Wyoming
 Mexico received $15M ($500M today)
 Gadsen Purchase in 1853 made a final border adjustment
 Our Shared Environment
 Map of U.S. Mexico Border depicting Watersheds

Source: Norman, L., et. Al (2010). Developing an Ecosystem Services Online Decision Support
Tool to Assess the Impacts of Climate Change and Urban Growth in the Santa Cruz Watershed;
Where We Live, Work, and Play. Sustainability, 2(7), 2044-2069. doi:10.3390/su2072044
BASIC FACTS
 California – nearly 40 million residents (Most Populous State
in the U.S.)
 Texas – nearly 28 million residents (2nd largest in U.S.)
 Arizona – nearly 7 million (14th largest in U.S.)
1850
 New Mexico – just over 2 million (36th largest U.S.) 1912 1912

 Baja California – just over 3.5 million (14th largest in 1848

1952
Mexico)
 Sonora – just over 3 million (17th largest in Mexico) 1824
1824
 Chihuahua - just over 3.7 million (11th largest in Mexico) 1824
1824
 Coahuila - just over 3 million (16th largest in Mexico) 1824

 Nuevo Leon - just over 5 million (8th largest in Mexico)

 Tamaulipas - just over 3.6 million (13th largest in Mexico)
U.S. State Legislatures
 Every State is different – only Nebraska is Unicameral – all others have 2
houses, a Senate and a House of Representatives, House of Delegates or
Assembly
 Wide Variations: NH – 400 Reps, 24 Senators (pop. 1.3 million)
 Nevada – 40 Reps, 21 Senators (pop. under 3 million)
 Wyoming – 60 reps,30 Senators (pop. Under 600 Thousand)
 AZ – 60 -30 and Senators only 2 yr terms – Limit 8 & 8 consecutive terms (no
lifetime ban on re-election)
 CA - 80 – 40 - 2 & 4 year terms with limits – 12 total since 2012 (1990-2012 -
3 terms in the Assembly plus 2 terms in the Senate) – lifetime ban after limit
 NM – 70 - 42 – no limits
 TX – 150 – 31 – no limits

 Compensation varies widely also – California Full-time, others Part-time with

limited compensation
 Mexican State Legislatures
Every State are equally unicameral. Each city has a council composed by president and aldermen or
regidores. Each state is integrated by a statewide Congress, composed by local deputies elected in
local districts of the state.

Wide variations of border states:

• Baja California - 25 Deputies: 17 districts / 8 plurinominal (pop. over 3 million)
• Sonora - 33 Deputies: 21 districts / 12 plurinominal (pop. under 3 million)
• Chihuahua - 33 Deputies: 22 districts / 11 plurinominal (pop. over 3 million)
• Coahuila - 25 Deputies: 16 districts / 9 plurinominal (pop. under 3 million)
• Nuevo León - 42 Deputies: 26 districts / 16 plurinominal (pop. over 5 million)
• Tamaulipas - 36 Deputies: 22 districts / 14 plurinominal (pop. over 3 million)

Under Article 59 of the Mexican Constitution, immediate re-election of legislators is prohibited,

although, with the new reform of Article 59 which will come into effect as of 2018, re-election is
approved for municipal presidents, governors, and Representatives and Senators at the Federal
level.
Length of Sessions and Legislative Deadlines – U.S.
 AZ – Each year January - May
 CA – First Monday of December following election through mid September and January through end of August
second year [summer recess: first year mid-July – mid August, second year July).
 NM – 60 day session Jan-Mar in odd years and 30 session in event years Jan-Feb
 TX - Jan – May or June each odd numbered year following Fall election – no regular session in even
numbered years.
 BC – During ordinary periods, the Congress of the State should hold sessions as many times as necessary.
Baja’s local Congress is part of a cluster of local Legislative branches that works all year long.
 SON – The State Congress shall have two constitutional periods of regular sessions (September/16-
December/15 and March/1- June/30) and two extraordinary sessions each year.
 CHIH – The Legislature shall have two regular sessions each year (October/1- December/31 and March/1-
June/31)
 COAH – Congress is renewed every three years; It begins its period on January 1 of the year following the
election and ends on December 31 of the third year of exercise. The local Congress has two regular sessions
per year; The first from January 1 to June 30 and the second from September 1 to December 31.
 NL – The Legislature shall hold each year two Regular Sessions. The first will begin on September 1 and end
on December 20; The second will begin on February 1 and end on May 1; Both periods may be extended for
up to thirty days.
 TAM - In accordance with Article 44 of the Political Constitution of the State, the Congress shall have its two
regular sessions each year.
Election System – U.S.
 Most State and all Federal Elections in Even numbered Years
 Elections run by State and Local Governments – Secretaries of State and
County Registrars – including Elections for Federal Offices
 Rules for voter registration and participation vary widely
 Local elected offices – many more of these than in Mexico – City councils,
County Supervisors, School and Community College Boards, Sheriffs, District
Attorneys, Judges. Dates for these sometimes not the same as state and
Federal
 Growing use of early drop-off and mail ballots
 Redistricting and Registration issues – Rules vary by state
 Electoral Management Body
▶ The National Electoral Institute (or INE by its acronym in Spanish) is in charge of the operation
system, supervision, and organization of all levels of elections in Mexico. There is a single electoral
management body at the national level. This works by local, states, and national sections and
depends if those are the municipal, state or national president elections. The elections’ structure of
each state works through districts divided according to their general population; these are divided
proportionally according to the National Electoral Registrar.

▶ Selection of the Federal Government Secretariats: All the secretaries of government at the
national level are chosen by the president and go through a screening process managed by Congress
to ensure transparency of the process.

▶ Election of the Mayor, the State Government, and President: These elections are carried out by
the INE.

▶ The following chart shows the amount relative to citizen votes

in the presidential elections in 2012:

Important note: All levels of elections in Mexico are managed in the same
manner.
Effects of Electoral Reform in Mexico
With the electoral reform of 2014…
 Transition from IFE to INE
 Main function INE organizes federal and local elections.
 It serves as a supervisory authority and provides the guidelines for local processes (41, base
V, section B, subsection a and b).
 The INE at the local level:
 It may organize the elections internally within the political parties, at their request.
 The federal entities must regulate the re-election of the municipal presidents, regidores and
síndicos, who can be reelected for a consecutive period, as long as the period of their
mandate does not exceed three years.
 They also allow the re-election of the Legislative Assembly of the DF for up to four
consecutive periods.
 As at the federal level, the nomination must be by the same party, unless the aspirant has
resigned his militancy before the middle of the term (article 115, section I).
Effects of Electoral Reform in Mexico
(cont.)
 The reform maintains the existence of the local electoral institutes with important
changes in its faculties, integration and appointment.
 General councils of the local institutes will be integrated by six advisers and a
President Counselor.
 In terms of their powers, they will carry out the capture and counting of votes,
declare the validity and grant certificates to the winning candidates, and carry out
the procedures of popular consultations at the local level.
 Administer the access to the prerogatives of candidates and political parties,
preparation of election day, printing of documents and production of election
materials, and preliminary results.
 Surveys or opinion polls; Electoral observation, and quick counts; Some of these
powers will be developed in accordance with the guidelines established by the INE
(article 41, base V, section C).
Compensation & Staff – U.S.
 Arizona . . . . . . $24,000 44.5/mile. $35 a day for the first 120 days of the
regular session and for special sessions and $10 a day thereafter; members
residing outside Maricopa County receive an additional $25 a day for the first
120 days of the regular session and for special sessions and an additional $10
a day thereafter (V). Set by statute.
 California . . . . . . $100,113 53/mile set by Commission. $176 a day for each
day in session
 New Mexico . . . . . . . . . 54/mile. Tied to federal rate. $163 a day (V). Tied
to federal rate.
 Texas . . . . . . $7,200 50/mile. $1.24/mile for single, twin and turbo engine
airplanes. Set by general appropriations bill. Per Diem $190 a day (U). Set by
ethics commission.
Federal Representation of Border States
 Each U.S. State elects 2 Federal Senators in Statewide elections.
Federal Senate Terms are 6 years, elections for one third held every 2
years.
 Example: California elected one in 2016, the other will be up in 2018
 Members of Congress: California – 53; AZ – 9; NM – 3; TX – 36 (101/435)
 These numbers can change after each Census

 The members of the Mexican Senate serve for a period of six years. Two
are elected by state, there are 32 states, and 64 more are assigned by
party population and minority preference in the Upper Chamber.
 Members of Congress: BC – 8 / 8; SON – 7 / 4; COAH – 7 / 4; CHIH – 9 / 4;
NL – 12 / 10; TAMS – 8 / 7
 These numbers can change after each Census and according to House Majority
Local Jurisdictions
▶ Maps outlines Counties and Municipios for each state

United States
Border States

Border States
of Mexico
10 border States Between Mexico
and United States, 25 counties,
and 36 Municipios.
 Centralization of major decisions in CDMX and Washington
 Opportunity to make changes in state laws but lack forums for greater
interaction with lawmakers on the other side of the border
 In practice there is little or no relationship between the municipal councils
and the state chambers.
 Topics of binational relevance
 Water
 Education
 Security