Discuss the nature and significance of Mexico’s 1917 Constitution.

Candidates will offer a considered and balanced review of the nature and significance of the 1917 Mexican Constitution. The 1917 Constitution was a response to the desire to modernize the state and achieve compromise between the different factions of the Mexican Revolution. Candidates may indicate that the Constitution was influenced by the ideas of the French Revolution and the Enlightenment and that it established popular sovereignty, freedom of thought and of association. They may also refer specifically to Articles 3, 27, 123 and 130 of the Constitution. Each of these attempted to resolve a major issue in Mexico. Article 3 dealt with secular education and Article 27 with land reform and foreign land ownership. Article 123 provided some of the most advanced labour laws of the time and Article 130 dealt with the Catholic Church. Each of these had a major impact on Mexico’s future.