Article 154 of Mexico’s Federal Labor Law lists the workers that employers must prefer when other circumstances are equal. Among them are “quienes les hayan servido satisfactoriamente por mayor tiempo” (those who have served them satisfactorily for a longer time).
The Union Leader
Fidel Velázquez was secretary general of the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM) for about five decades. Biografías y Vidas states that he held the post “desde 1941 hasta su muerte” (from 1941 until his death). Encyclopedia.com gives two terms instead, from 1940 to 1946 and again from 1950.
He died in June 1997 at the age of 97. The Deseret News, reporting his death, called him “a kingmaker” in the ruling party.
The Council of Elders
In ruling SUP-REC-39/2017, Mexico’s Electoral Tribunal described the system of posts in a Chatino community in Oaxaca, governed by its own customs. “Para pasar de un cargo a otro, los ciudadanos esperan de uno a cuatro años” (To move from one post to the next, citizens wait one to four years). “El cargo confiere prestigio a quien lo cumple” (The post confers prestige on the person who fulfills it).
The posts come before membership in the Consejo de Ancianos, the Council of Elders.
Don and Doña
Don and doña are placed before a first name. The dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy defines don as a “tratamiento de respeto que se antepone a los nombres de pila” (a form of respect placed before first names).
In the television comedy El Chavo del 8, two of the adult neighbors are Don Ramón and Doña Florinda.
Physically or Verbally
Mexico City’s Civic Culture Law lists infractions against the dignity of persons. In its 2019 text, the first is to “vejar, intimidar o maltratar física o verbalmente a cualquier persona” (to humiliate, intimidate or mistreat any person, physically or verbally).
In 2019, the National Human Rights Commission challenged the words “o verbalmente” before the Supreme Court, in action of unconstitutionality 72/2019. The outcome of the challenge could not be confirmed.
The Carreño
The Manual de urbanidad y buenas maneras, a manual of civility and good manners, was written in 1854 by the Venezuelan Manuel Antonio Carreño. A chapter published by the UNAM’s Institute of Historical Research refers to it as “el texto más conocido y difundido a la vuelta del siglo” (the best-known and most widely circulated text at the turn of the century).
The chapter describes the manual as “un puente entre la socialización familiar y la socialización escolar” (a bridge between socialization in the family and socialization at school).
The Slap in Huixtla
On December 9, 2014, at an event in Huixtla, Chiapas, Governor Manuel Velasco slapped his assistant, Luis Humberto, on the cheek. A video of the moment spread online. The governor’s name became a trending topic, and users posted images that mocked him.
On January 21, 2015, Velasco apologized in public for “el lamentable incidente accidental que pasó el día 9 de diciembre en Huixtla” (the regrettable accidental incident that took place on December 9 in Huixtla).
Lord None of Your Business
In the early hours of August 27, 2025, an employee of the legal department of Guadalajara’s police was arrested for driving drunk. During the arrest he shouted: “No me toquen, no saben con quién están hablando” (Don’t touch me, you don’t know who you are talking to).
Social media named him “Lord Qué Te Importa,” Lord None of Your Business. The police department announced: “El servidor público fue separado de su cargo y se abrió un procedimiento en su contra” (The public servant was removed from his post and proceedings were opened against him).
Courtesy and Upbringing
In a study of politeness published in Verbum et Lingua, a journal of the University of Guadalajara, Mexican speakers were asked what courtesy is. One answered: “La cortesía y la educación. De hecho, en algún punto hasta pueden considerarse sinónimos” (Courtesy and upbringing. In fact, at some point they can even be considered synonyms).
Another said that courtesy was “no precisamente para caer bien, sino por el hecho de tener educación” (not exactly to be liked, but because one has been brought up well).
Hunger and Thirst for Justice
On March 6, 1994, Luis Donaldo Colosio, the PRI’s presidential candidate, spoke at the party’s 65th anniversary at the Monument to the Revolution in Mexico City. The speech is remembered for one sentence: “Yo veo un México con hambre y con sed de justicia” (I see a Mexico hungry and thirsty for justice).
Seventeen days later, on March 23, he was assassinated.