Article 80 of the Mexican Constitution reads: “Se deposita el ejercicio del Supremo Poder Ejecutivo de la Unión en un solo individuo, que se denominará ‘Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos'” (The exercise of the Supreme Executive Power of the Union is vested in a single individual, who shall be called “President of the United Mexican States”). The article has kept its original wording since the Constitution was published in February 1917.
Powers Beyond the Constitution
In 1978, the jurist Jorge Carpizo published El presidencialismo mexicano (Mexican Presidentialism) with Siglo XXI. Among the causes of the president’s dominance, he listed “las amplias facultades constitucionales y extraconstitucionales, como son la facultad de designar a su sucesor y a los gobernadores de las entidades federativas” (the broad constitutional and extraconstitutional powers, such as the power to designate his successor and the governors of the states).
In a text published by the Law Faculty of UNAM, Serrano Migallón writes that legal doctrine calls some of the president’s attributions “facultades metaconstitucionales” (metaconstitutional powers). A footnote there refers readers to Carpizo’s book.
Settling with the Superior
The Interior Regulation of Mexico’s Ministry of the Interior, in its 2019 version, lists the general powers of its officials. For the heads of the undersecretariats, the first one is “Acordar con la persona Titular de la Secretaría los asuntos de su competencia” (to settle with the head of the Ministry the matters within their competence).
For the heads of the administrative units listed in section B of Article 2, Article 10 begins in the same way: “Acordar con su superior jerárquico la resolución de los asuntos a su cargo” (to settle with their hierarchical superior the resolution of the matters in their charge).
Without a Board
In 2016, the consulting firm KPMG surveyed more than 200 directors and senior executives of family businesses in Mexico. Only 45 percent of the respondents had a governing body such as a board of directors. Only 30 percent of the boards included independent members in their meetings. KPMG described “decisiones más o menos unilaterales tomadas por los dueños y directores” (more or less unilateral decisions taken by the owners and directors).
Twenty-One Coaches
In April 2014, Jorge Vergara, the owner of the football club Chivas of Guadalajara, announced the dismissal of its coach, Ricardo La Volpe, himself. In October 2014, El Financiero counted that in his twelve years as owner, Vergara had hired 21 coaches. It called them “la larga lista de entrenadores empleados y despedidos por Vergara” (the long list of coaches hired and fired by Vergara).
In June 2019, ESPN reported that Vergara had given his son Amaury full authority over the club’s decisions, including changes of coach. When Amaury dismissed a coach, ESPN wrote that he continued “una tradición que su padre” had made popular “con el conjunto rojiblanco” (a tradition that his father had made popular with the red-and-white team).
Under the Employer’s Authority
Article 134 of Mexico’s Federal Labor Law lists the duties of workers. Fraction III requires them to “desempeñar el servicio bajo la dirección del patrón o de su representante, a cuya autoridad estarán subordinados en todo lo concerniente al trabajo” (perform the service under the direction of the employer or the employer’s representative, to whose authority they are subordinate in everything that concerns the work).
Article 47 lists the reasons for which an employer may dismiss a worker without liability. Fraction XI names “desobedecer el trabajador al patrón o a sus representantes, sin causa justificada, siempre que se trate del trabajo contratado” (disobedience of the worker toward the employer or the employer’s representatives, without justified cause, when it concerns the work contracted for).
Whoever Moves Is Not in the Photo
El que se mueve no sale en la foto. “Whoever moves does not come out in the photo.” A column in Quadratín attributes the line to Fidel Velázquez, who led the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM) from 1941 until his death in 1997. The column gives no date for it.
The columnist reads it as advice to keep a low profile in order to stay in power.
The Charge
La cargada, “the charge,” is the rush of politicians to declare support for whoever has been chosen as the next leader. The Diccionario del español de México of El Colegio de México defines it as a “congregación de oportunistas, sobre todo en el ámbito político,” a gathering of opportunists, above all in politics.
The One Who Commands
El que manda, manda, y si se equivoca, vuelve a mandar. “The one who commands, commands, and if he makes a mistake, he commands again.” In a 2019 column in Excélsior, the journalist Félix Cortés Camarillo wrote that he learned the saying from a businessman, don Emilio.
The Big Finger
Under the PRI, the outgoing president chose the party’s candidate for his succession. The practice is called el dedazo, from dedo, “finger.” The dictionary of the Spanish Academy defines it, in its Mexican sense, as the designation of a candidate by the executive “without the usual formalities.” The writer Jorge Castañeda has argued that every PRI president used it.
Until the name was announced, the chosen man was el tapado, “the covered one.” For months, names of possible successors went around. In the end, the president decided.