GLOBAL HISTORY SERIES I
Write a five-page paper that describes the ideal Mexico that the articles of the Constitution of 1917 hoped to create. I want you to write about the articles and the book the but the book is the more important the name of the book is GLOBAL HISTORY SERIES I
Art. 3. Instruction is free; that given in public institutions of learning shall be secular. Primary instruction, whether higher or lower, given in private institutions shall likewise be secular. No religious corporation nor minister of any religious creed shall establish or direct schools of primary instruction. Private primary schools may be established only subject to official supervision. Primary instruction in public institutions shall be gratuitous.
Art. 5. No one shall be compelled to render personal services without due compensation and without his full consent, excepting labor imposed as a penalty by judicial decree, which shall conform to the provisions of clauses I and II of Article 128. Only the following public services shall be obligatory, subject to the conditions set forth in the respective laws : military service, jury service, service in municipal and other public elective office, whether this election be direct or indirect, and service in connection with elections, which shall be obligatory and without compensation. The State shall not permit any contract, covenant or agreement to be carried out having for its object the abridgment, loss or irrevocable sacrifice of the liberty of man, whether by reason of labor, education or religious vows. The law, therefore, does not permit the establishment of monastic orders, of whatever denomination, or for whatever purpose contemplated.
Art. 24. Every one is free to embrace the religion of his choice and to practice all ceremonies, devotions or observances of his respective creed, either in places of public worship or at home, pro- vided they do not constitute an offense punishable by law. Every religious act of public worship shall be performed strictly within the places of public worship, which shall be at all times under governmental supervision.
Art. 27. The Nation shall have at all times the right to impose on private property such limitations as the public interest may demand as well as the right to regulate the development of natural resources, which are susceptible of appropriation, in order to conserve them and equitably to distribute the public wealth. For this purpose necessary measures shall be taken to divide large landed estates; to develop small landed holdings; to establish new centers of rural population with such lands and waters as may be indispensable to them; to encourage agriculture and to prevent the destruction of natural resources, and to protect property from damage detrimental to society. Settlements, hamlets situated on private property and communes which lack lands or water or do not possess them in sufficient quantities for their needs shall have the right to be provided with them from the adjoining properties, always having due regard for small landed holdings. Wherefore, all grants of lands made up to the present time under the decree of January 6, 1915, are confirmed.
The religious institutions known as churches, irrespective of creed, shall in no case have legal capacity to acquire, hold or administer real property or loans made on such real property 10 ; all such real property or loans as may be at present held by the said religious institutions, either on their own behalf or through third parties, shall vest in the Nation, and any one shall have the right to denounce property so held. Presumptive proof shall be sufficient to declare the denunciation well- founded. Places of public worship are the property of the Nation, as represented by the Federal Government, which shall determine which of them may continue to be devoted to their present purposes. Episcopal residences, rectories, seminaries, orphan asylums or collegiate establishments of religious institutions, convents or any other buildings built or de- signed for the administration, propaganda, or teaching of the tenets of any religious creed shall forth- with vest, as of full right, directly in the Nation, to be used exclusively for the public services of the Federation or of the States, within their respective jurisdictions. All places of public worship which shall later be erected shall be the property of the Nation.
Art. 123. The Congress and the State Legislatures shall make laws relative to labor with due regard for the needs of each region of the Republic, and in conformity with the following principles, and these principles and laws shall govern the labor of skilled and unskilled workmen, employees, domestic servants and artisans, and in general every contract of labor. I. Eight hours shall be the maximum limit of a day’s work. II. The maximum limit of night work shall be seven hours. Unhealthy and dangerous occupations are forbidden to all Constitution of Mexico 95 1867 1917 women and to children under sixteen years of age. Night work in factories is likewise forbidden to women and to children under sixteen years of age; nor shall they be employed in commercial establishments after ten o’clock at night. III. The maximum limit of a day’s work for children over twelve and under sixteen years of age shall be six hours. The work of children under twelve years of age shall not be made the subject of a contract. IV. Every workman shall enjoy at least one day’s rest for every six days’ work. V. Women shall not perform any physical work requiring considerable physical effort during the three months immediately pre- ceding parturition; during the month following parturition they shall necessarily enjoy a period of rest and shall receive their salaries or wages in full and retain their employment and the rights they may have acquired under their contracts. During the period of lactation they shall enjoy two extraordinary daily periods of rest of one-half hour each, in order to nurse their children. VI. The minimum wage to be received by a workman shall be thatconsidered sufficient, according to the conditions prevailing in the respective region of the country, to satisfy the normal needs of the life of the workman, his education and his lawful pleasures, considering him as the head of a family. In all agricultural, commercial, manufacturing or mining 96 Constitution of Mexico 1857 1917 enterprises the workmen shall have the right to participate in the profits in the manner fixed in Clause IX of this article. VII. The same compensation shall be paid for the same work, without regard to sex or nationality. VIII. The minimum wage shall be exempt from attachment, set- off or discount. IX. The determination of the minimum wage and of the rate of profit-sharing described in Clause VI shall be made by special com- missions to be appointed in each municipality and to be subordinated to the Central Board of Conciliation to be established in each State. X. All wages shall be paid in legal currency and shall not be paid in merchandise, orders, counters or any other representative token with which it is sought to substitute money. XL When owing to special circumstances it becomes necessary to increase the working hours, there shall be paid as wages for the overtime one hundred per cent more than those fixed for regular time. In no case shall the overtime exceed three hours nor continue for more than three consecutive days; and no women of what- ever age nor boys under sixteen years of age may engage in over- time work. XII. In every agricultural, industrial, mining or other class of work employers are bound to furnish their workmen comfortable and sanitary dwelling-places, for which they may charge rents not Constitution of Mexico 97 1867 1917 exceeding one-half of one per cent per month of the assessed value of the properties. 19 They shall like- wise establish schools, dispensaries and other services necessary to the community. If the factories are located within inhabited places and more than one hundred persons are employed therein, the first of the above-mentioned conditions shall be complied with. XIII. Furthermore, there shall be set aside in these labor centers, whenever their population exceeds two hundred inhabitants, a space of land not less than five thousand square meters for the establishment of public markets, and the construction of buildings designed for municipal services and places of amusement. No saloons nor gambling houses shall be permitted in such labor centers. XIV. Employers shall be liable for labor accidents and occupational diseases arising from work; therefore, employers shall pay the proper indemnity, according to whether death or merely temporary or permanent disability has en- sued, in accordance with the provisions of law. This liability shall remain in force even though the employer contract for the work through an agent. XV. Employers shall be bound to observe in the installation of their establishments all the pro- visions of law regarding hygiene and sanitation and to adopt adequate measures to prevent accidents due to the use of machinery, tools and working materials, as well as to organize work in such a “See Art. 27, Clause VII, second paragraph of 1917. 98 Constitution of Mexico 1857 1917 manner as to assure the greatest guarantees possible for the health and lives of workmen compatible with the nature of the work, under penalties which the law shall determine. XVI. Workmen and employers shall have the right to unite for the defense of their respective interests, by forming syndicates, unions, etc. XVII. The law shall recognize the right of workmen and employers to strike and to lockout. XVIII. Strikes shall be lawful when by the employment of peaceful means they shall aim to bring about a balance between the various factors of production, and to harmonize the rights of capital and labor. In the case of public services, the workmen shall be obliged to give notice ten days in advance to the Board of Conciliation and Arbitration of the date set for the suspension of work. Strikes shall only be considered unlawful when the majority of the strikers shall resort to acts of violence against persons or property, or in case of war when the strikers belong to establishments and services de- pendent on the government. Employees of military manufacturing establishments of the Federal Government shall not be included in the provisions of this clause, inasmuch as they are a dependency of the national army. XIX. Lockouts shall only be lawful when the excess of production shall render it necessary to shut down in order to maintain prices reasonably above the cost of production, subject to the approval of the Board of Conciliation and Arbitration. Constitution of Mexico 99 1857 1917 XX. Differences or disputes between capital and labor shall be submitted for settlement to a board of conciliation and arbitration to consist of an equal number of representatives of the workmen and of the employers and of one representative of the Government. XXI. If the employer shall refuse to submit his differences to arbitration or to accept the award rendered by the Board, the labor contract shall be considered as terminated, and the employer shall be bound to indemnify the work- man by the payment to him of three months’ wages, in addition to the liability which he may have incurred by reason of the dispute. If the workman reject the award, the contract will be held to have terminated. XXII. An employer who dis- charges a workman without proper cause or for having joined a union or syndicate or for having taken part in a lawful strike shall be bound, at the option of the work- man, either to perform the con- tract or to indemnify him by the payment of three months’ wages. He shall incur the same liability if the workman shall leave his service on account of the lack of good faith on the part of the employer or of maltreatment either as to his own person or that of his wife, parents, children or brothers or sisters. The employer cannot evade this liability when the mal- treatment is inflicted by subordinates or agents acting with his consent or knowledge. XXIII. Claims of workmen for salaries or wages accrued during the past year and other in- 100 Constitution of Mexico 1857 1917 indemnity claims shall be preferred over any other claims, in cases of bankruptcy or composition. XXIV. Debts contracted by workmen in favor of their employers or their employers’ associates, subordinates or agents, may only be charged against the work- men themselves and in no case and for no reason collected from the members of his family. Nor shall such debts be paid by the taking of more than the entire wages of the workman for any one month. XXV. No fee shall be charged for finding work for workmen by municipal offices, employment bureaus or other public or private agencies. XXVI. Every contract of labor between a Mexican citizen and a foreign principal shall be legalized before the competent municipal authority and visied by the consul of the nation to which the workman is undertaking to go, on the under- standing that, in addition to the usual clauses, special and clear provisions shall be inserted for the payment by the foreign principal making the contract of the cost to the laborer of repatriation. XXVII. The following stipulations shall be null and void and shall not bind the contracting parties, even though embodied in the contract: (a) Stipulations providing for inhuman day’s work on account of its notorious excessiveness, in view of the nature of the work. (6) Stipulations providing for a wage rate which in the judgment of the Board of Conciliation and Arbitration is not remunerative. Constitution of Mexico 101 1867 1917 (c) Stipulations providing for a term of more than one week before the payment of wages. 0) Stipulations providing for the assigning of places of amusement, eating places, cafes, taverns, saloons or shops for the payment of wages, when employees of such establishments are not involved. (e) Stipulations involving a direct or indirect obligation to purchase articles of consumption in specified shops or places. (J) Stipulations permitting the retention of wages by way of fines. (g) Stipulations constituting a waiver on the part of the workman of the indemnities to which he may become entitled by reason of labor accidents or occupational diseases, damages for breach of contract, or for discharge from work. (h) All other stipulations implying the waiver of any right vested in the workman by labor laws. XXVIII. The law shall decide what property constitutes the family patrimony. These goods shall be inalienable and shall not be mortgaged, nor attached, and may be bequeathed with simplified formalities in the succession proceedings. XXIX. Institutions of popular insurance™ established for old age, sickness, life, unemployment, accident and others of a similar character, are considered of social utility; the Federal and State Governments shall therefore en- courage the organization of institutions of this character in order to instill and inculcate popular habits of thrift. XXX. Cooperative associations for the construction of cheap and sanitary dwelling houses for work- men shall likewise be considered of social utility whenever these properties are designed to be acquired in ownership by the workmen within specified periods.
