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The cabinet of Mexico is the Executive Cabinet (Spanish: Gabinete Legal) and is a part of the executive branch of the Mexican government. It consists of eighteen Secretaries of State, the head of the federal executive legal office and the Attorney General.
Contents
- Constitutional and legal basis
- Secretary selection process
- Cabinet level administration offices
- References
In addition to the legal Executive Cabinet there are other Cabinet-level administration offices that report directly to the President of the Republic (Gabinete Ampliado). Officials from the legal and extended Cabinet (Gabinete Legal y Ampliado) are subordinate to the President.
Constitutional and legal basis
The term "Cabinet" does not appear in the Constitution, where reference is made only to the Secretaries of State. Article 89 of the Constitution provides that the President of Mexico can assign and remove Secretaries of State.
Article 26 of the Organic Law of the Federal Public Administration (Ley Orgánica de la Administración Pública Federal) creates the several cabinet secretariats, and the Organic Law of the Attorney General's Office (Ley Orgánica de la Procuraduría General de la República) creates the office of the Attorney General.
The Executive Cabinet does not play a collective legislative or executive role (as do the Cabinets in parliamentary systems). The main interaction that Cabinet members have with the legislative branch are regular testimonials before Congressional committees to justify their actions, and coordinate executive and legislative policy in their respective fields of jurisdiction.
Secretary selection process
The Executive Cabinet members are appointed by the President of the Republic. Only the Attorney General needs to be approved by the Senate. (not 2014)
Cabinet Secretaries are often selected from past and current governors, senators, and other political office holders. Private citizens such as businessmen or former military officials are also common Cabinet choices.
It is not rare for a Secretary to be moved from one Secretariat to another. For example, former Secretary of Energy Fernando Canales Clariond had previously served as Secretary of Economy and former Secretary of Education Josefina Vázquez Mota has previously served as Secretary of Social Development.
Cabinet-level administration offices
Some positions are not part of the legal Executive Cabinet, but have cabinet-level rank therefore their incumbents are considered members of the extended cabinet (Gabinete ampliado).
Some of the cabinet-level administration offices are: