In December 1853, a document kept Antonio López de Santa Anna in power with extraordinary powers “hasta que juzgara necesario” (for as long as he judged necessary). According to a history text of Mexico’s adult education system, it also established that “el tratamiento a López de Santa Anna sería de Alteza Serenísima” (the form of address for López de Santa Anna would be Most Serene Highness).
Order of Precedence
The protocol rules of the Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC) set an order of precedence with 17 ranks. It begins with the rector, then the president of the governing board, then the board’s members, then the president of the university trust. Speeches must open by naming the leading authorities present “en estricto apego a la precedencia correspondiente” (in strict adherence to the corresponding precedence).
The rules also fix the seats. In a row with an odd number of people, “el lugar de honor será aquel que se ubica exactamente en el centro” (the place of honor will be the one exactly in the center). “El Rector sólo cederá la presidencia al Jefe del Ejecutivo Federal” (The rector will give up the presidency of an event only to the head of the federal executive). At some events, the state governor also takes it.
The Engineer
In 2017, an Expansión article on Carlos Slim included the sentence “El ingeniero es propietario de la gigante de telecomunicaciones América Móvil” (The engineer is the owner of the telecommunications giant América Móvil). Slim graduated as a civil engineer from the Faculty of Engineering of the UNAM.
The Table of Deans
A new Chamber of Deputies is installed by the Mesa de Decanos, the Table of Deans. Under Article 15 of the Organic Law of the Congress, its members are the deputies-elect “que hayan desempeñado con mayor antigüedad la responsabilidad de legislador federal” (who have served longest as federal legislators).
If two have equal seniority, the one who has belonged to more legislatures comes first. If they are still tied, the older one does. The Table swears in the new legislators and presides over the session that elects the chamber’s first leadership.
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.
Licenciado
On December 1, 1946, Miguel Alemán Valdés became president of Mexico. He was a civilian and a law graduate of UNAM. According to México Desconocido, official protocol used his academic degree “como título de su investidura” (as the title of his office).
Many politicians then began to use licenciado as a title of prestige. Mi licenciado became “sinónimo de poder” (a synonym for power) in politics, the law and the bureaucracy. From there the use spread to the rest of society.
Titles Instead of Names
In Mexico, a university degree becomes a form of address. Licenciado or licenciada is used for “anyone who has a degree in any number of fields,” one guide explains. Engineers are addressed as ingeniero or ingeniera, and teachers, university professors included, as maestro or maestra. Another guide notes that calling someone simply Ingeniero is “completely acceptable” even when the speaker knows the person’s first name.
Usted Outside the Family
The linguist Cristal Cepeda has studied the use of usted in Mexico and other Latin American countries. She told Mexico News Daily that usted is used “with older people and authority figures, especially outside the family context.”
In Mexico City, tú is now “the most frequent, but not categorical, form of address.”
Usted for Elders
“El respeto nos ayuda a vivir en armonía” (Respect helps us live in harmony) is a first-grade lesson of the Ministry of Public Education. It teaches children “frases de cortesía para saludar y despedirse” (courtesy phrases for greeting and saying goodbye). It also explains that “en español, los niños generalmente hablan a las personas mayores de ‘usted'” (in Spanish, children generally address older people as usted).
The Day of the President
In the years of PRI rule, the president’s annual report to Congress was known as el Día del Presidente, “the Day of the President.” It came with parades, luxury cars and national broadcasts that lasted for hours. The president arrived at Congress among ovations.
The speech was judged by counting how many times applause interrupted it. A 2008 reform ended the president’s obligation to attend.