In Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies, speakers open by asking the leave of the presiding officer. In the session of October 22, 2025, the deputies Ana Luisa del Muro García of the PT and Lucero Higareda Segura of Morena began their speeches with the same words: “Con su venia, presidenta” (With your leave, Madam President).
Other speakers in the same session said “Con la venia de la Presidencia” (With the leave of the Presidency) or “Con su permiso” (With your permission).
A guide to official documents of the state of Oaxaca tells writers to end the address block of a letter with the word PRESENTE, or EDIFICIO for internal mail. It also prescribes the motto “SUFRAGIO EFECTIVO, NO REELECCIÓN” (Effective suffrage, no reelection).
At the UNAM, the guide to official correspondence requires the closing Atentamente, then the institution’s motto, then the place and the date. The motto is “Por mi raza hablará el espíritu” (The spirit will speak for my race), adopted in 1921 under the rector José Vasconcelos.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
“Cuando llegues, o te vayas, saluda a todos” (When you arrive, or when you leave, greet everyone). This was one rule in a 2013 Chilango list on how to behave in the office.
The greeting is often physical. A 2025 Chilango column describes it: between women, a single kiss on the right cheek, and between men, a hug with a pat on the back.
“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).
When a Mexican is called by name, or does not catch what was said, the polite answer is ¿Mande? The word comes from mandar, “to command,” and means roughly “at your command.” Its origin is unclear. One account links it to the colonial period, but no document supports this, and the word is used between equals.
Many Mexicans also call their mother mi jefa, “my boss,” and, with affection, jefecita.