All persons acquiring land in Mexico be come by virtue of this acquisition Mexican citi zens, unless they distinctly state in their deed of acquisition that they reserve their right to the citizenship of their native land. One of the radical changes of the Queretaro conven tion (31 Jan. 1917) is the provision that only Mexican citizens, by birth or naturalization, may acquire landed properties or water rights or obtain concessions to exploit mines or com bustibles; but the state may concede such right io foreigners who appear before the Secretary of Foreign Relations and agree to be consid ered as Mexicans, in so far as the titles in volved are concerned and agree not to invoke, in regard to the same, the protection of their respective governments, under penalty, for vio lation of these provisions, of losing the titles thus acquired, which automatically revert to the nation. All Mexican citizens, whether native born or naturalized, are liable to military serv ice. All persons resident within the republic are guaranteed the protection of the laws of the land.
The state government is divided into three branches, executive, legislative and judicial. The chamber of deputies and the senate, con stituting the Congress of the union, are the legislative bodies, and by them alone can laws for the government of the country be enacted. Two sessions of Congress are held each year. The first, which begins on the first day of April, lasts from two to two and a half months, and its primary business is to audit all ac counts of the previous year and to arrange the estimates for the incoming fiscal year. The second, which begins on 16 September, lasts for from three to four months. The law provides for the election of a President of the republic. who shall serve for a term of four years and shall not be re-elected, and a Cabinet composed of the following departments: Fomento (pro motion), foreign affairs, interior, justice, finance, communications and public works and war and marine. The Constitutional party, recognizing that the constitution of 1857, with the various amendments thereto, was unsuited, in certain important respects, to the conditions under which the Mexican people live, decided to make such changes in it as seemed neces sary for the welfare of the nation. To this end a convention was held in Queretaro (De cember 1916). After two months' deliberation it closed its labors on 31 Jan. 1917, having re formed, in a radical manner, a number of the most important sections of the basic constitu tion. According to these changes the office of Vice-President of the nation is done away with and the filling of that of President, in case of the death or absence of the chief executive of the nation, is left in the hands of Congress.
The age of compulsory primary education is raised to 15 years and all parents or guardians are under obligation to see to it that their children or wards receive primary, secondary and military education. Instruction in all gov ernment schools and in all primary private schools must be laic, and no ministers, priests or officials of religious organizations or socie ties may establish or own schools or teach in Mexican schools. This abolishes the church schools which, before the revolution of 1910, ministered to fully two-fifths of the educational needs of the country. To make up the de ficiencies in educational facilities thus caused the new reforms in the constitution declare it obligatory upon all agricultural, mining and in dustrial companies, resident outside of towns, to establish and maintain schools for the edu cation of the children of the people in their employ or resident on their property. All schools, whether official or private, must sub mit to official inspection and follow the gov ernment program of studies.
The constitutional amendments of 31 Jan. 1917 provide for the subdivision of large landed estates, aiming in this way to solve the land problem, which formed one of the causes of the revolution of 1910. Each state or terri tory is empowered to fix the largest amount of land which any person or company may hold, and all landed properties in excess of this amount must be subdivided and sold off widen a certain stated time, and in accordance nit official regulations, otherwise they are skier: to confiscation. One of these conditions pro vides that at least 20 years shall be allowed t the purchaser in which to acquire propert3 rights by making stated yearly payer During this time no mortgage can be pbced on the property thus acquired and the interei charged cannot be greater than 5 per cent Sr lien of any kind can be placed upon homestead properties nor can they be seized for debt or other causes. In theory all land, mineral.: and other resources of the country are the property of the nation, and this position I: maintained by the constitutional amendments‘: 1917, and the theory itself is put forward os. a justification for the subdivision, by order of the legislature, of large landed estates and die national control of oil, mineral and RZEI rights, with a view to the more equal distiller tion of the wealth of the nation and the a couragernent of small landed proprietors. hold mining properties it is necessary to them; and no company may acquire and reth possession of more land than is actually nee sary for the carrying on successfully of h business of the concern, whether it be minim, agricultural or industrial.