Freedom of Religion and Public Worship in Mexico: a Legal Commentary on the 1992 Federal Act on Religious Matters Jorge A

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5-1-1998 Freedom of Religion and Public Worship in Mexico: A Legal Commentary on the 1992 Federal Act on Religious Matters Jorge A. Vargas

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Recommended Citation Jorge A. Vargas, Freedom of Religion and Public Worship in Mexico: A Legal Commentary on the 1992 Federal Act on Religious Matters, 1998 BYU L. Rev. 421 (1998). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/lawreview/vol1998/iss2/6

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Fr eedom of Religion and Pu blic Worship in Mexico: A Legal Commentary on the 1992 Federal Act on Religious Matters

Jorge A. Vargas*

I. INTRODUCTION Mexico is a land of contrasts. Discovered and initially popu- lated by t he Spa nia rds in 1519, wh en Sp ain wa s a bou t to rea ch its peak as t he world’s major polit ica l, economic, and military power, Mexico h ad n o choice b ut to become a Ca tholic n ation . Under the laws of Cast ille in force a t that tim e, b y m anda te of King Charles V, no exploration, discovery or possess ion of an y land in the n ame of t he Spa nish Cr own wa s t o take effect any- where in the pla net wit hout the dir ect in volve men t of the Cath- olic Church.1 Placed at the same level as kings an d em per ors, a nd recognized as occupying a superior rank on spiritual matters, the Cat holic Chu rch prepa red its pr iest s to serve not only as bril- liant navigators and cosmographers2 but, more importantly, as inspired missionaries and devoted promoter s of the Cat holic religion on a global scale.3 The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries formed part of an era when explorations for wealth,

* Pr ofess or of Law, Universit y of San Diego Sch ool of Law. Yale Law Sch ool, LL.M. (1969), J.S.D. candidate (1972); LL.B., summa cum laude, Mexico’s National Autonomous Universit y School of Law (UNAM), Mexico City, 1964. F orme rly a law pr ofess or at UNAM, Iberoamericana and Anáhua c Universities, Mexico City. The author verifies the accuracy of all English translations. 1. In 1492 , Kin g Ch ar les V decr eed th at an y exp edi tion au th oriz ed t o explore the New World had to includ e religious mis siona ries w ith th e pur pose of “introdu cing and propa gat ing the Ca th olic faith a mong t he n at ur als in th ose lan ds.” LUIS WECK MAN , THE MED IEVAL HERITAGE OF MEXICO 184 (Frances M. López-Morilla s tr an s., 199 2). 2. See generally ALVARO DEL PORT ILL O Y DÍEZ DE SOLANO, DESCUBRIMIENTOS Y EXPLORACIONES EN LAS COSTAS DE CALIF ORN IA (2d ed. 1980 ); HENRY R. WAGNER, SPANISH DISCOVERIES IN THE SOUTHWEST OF THE UNITED STATES IN THE 17TH CENTURY (193 7). 3. See WITNESS: WRITINGS OF BARTOLOMÉ DE LAS CASAS 66 (George Sa nder lin tr an s., 1992).

421 D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

422 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [1998 knowledge, and souls were a common occurrence.4 With a populat ion approaching 100 million, of which eighty-nine percent are Roman Catholic, 5 Mexico is the lar gest Cat holic country in the world. However, many international observers have been unaware that official rela tion s bet ween the gover nmen t of Mexico a nd the Catholic Church over the last 140 years h ave been seeded with mu tu al suspicion, loaded wit h chronic ten sions, and marked with severe an d violent confrontat ions. Therefore, it is ironic th at in the world’s largest Ca th olic country t he r elat ions between the government and the Catholic Church have been severely strained. In general, the antagon ism between the Mexican government and t he Ca tholic Ch urch origin ated beca use of th e immense wealth and unequal political power a cquir ed by t he Church over the first three centuries of Mexico’s existence as a nation. The Church’s wealth and political power became so great that it first challenged, and lat er openly opposed, th e public policies advanced by the government, including its own constitutional nature as a republic, as establish ed by M exico’s Federal Con st it ution of 1857.6 The confrontat ion between these two forces finally culmin at ed in a m ilitary ca mpaign in which the Catholic Church and a group of conservatives, with the support of Napoleon III, embraced the establishment of a monarchy in Mexico. This regime was t o be headed by Maxim ilian of Hapsburg, instead of t he republican government then led by Presiden t Benito Ju árez. Yet the republican forces, with th e political and military support of President Abraham Lincoln, defeated the French invading forces and the

4. For a b ri ef h ist ori c re lation of thes e th ree t ypes of Span ish exp lorat ions in Mexi co, see Jorge A. Vargas, U.S . Marine Scientific Research Activities Offshore Mex ico: An Ev aluation of Mexico’s Recent R egulat ory Legal Fram ework, 24 DENV. J. OF INT’L L. & POL’Y 1, 7-18 (199 5). 5. See U.S. DEP’T OF STATE, BACKGROUND NOTES: MEXICO (199 7). 6. Article 40 of the Federal Constitution of 1857 provided: “[I]t is t he will of the Mexican people to constitute themselves into a federal, democratic, representative Repu blic composed of free and sovereign Sta tes in all that concerns their internal affairs but un ited in a F eder at ion est ablish ed accordin g to th e prin ciples of this Fundamental law .” The te xt of Ar ticl e 40 re ma ins th e sa me in t he Con st itu tion of 1917. S ee F ELIPE TEN A RAMÍREZ, LEYES FUNDAMEN TALES DE MÉXICO, 1808-1991, at 613 (199 1). D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 423 conser vat ive ar my support ed by the Ca th olic clergy. This defeat, epit omized by the t ragic ep isode of Cerro de las Campanas in wh ich Maximilian a nd his generals Miramón and Mejía were shot in Quer étaro in 1867, reestablished the Republic throughout the nation, led by t he gover nmen t of Pr esident J uá rez. It was durin g this per iod that Pr esident Juárez enacted the Reformation Acts (Leyes de Reforma).7 These legislat ive enactment s wer e designed to depr ive the Cat holic Church of its immense wealth an d politica l for ce. This wa s d one by m ea ns of a series of decrees which, inter a lia, nat ionalized all eccle siast ica l assets, placed acts per ta ining to the civil status of individua ls—civil mar ria ges in particular—under the control of public au th orities and public law, regula ted cemet eries and interments, an d bann ed all religiou s orders.8 As a direct result of th e Reformat ion Acts, the cont ent of which was reproduced in its ent iret y in Mexico’s Feder al Constitu tion of 1917, a clearly anticlerica l legal regime was formulat ed. This regime imposed severe restr ictions on th e Cath olic Church an d est ablished an extrem e sepa ra tion between church an d st at e. It is a regim e that, despite t he loud and persist ent protest s advanced by th e Vatica n since its enactment, rem ained in force until 1992. The constitutional am endmen ts ma de in 1992 to Articles 27 and 130 represent a profound change in the content and scope of th e former legal regime.9 From a substantive viewpoint, these changes are so deep in their legal ph ilosophy that observers have character ized t hem as s urpr isin g, u npr ecedented, and dramatic.10 Yet the antagonism between the Mexican government and the Roman Catholic Church has existed for so long that even today, notwithstanding the Act of Religiou s As sociation s a nd Pu blic Worship of 1992,11 which made unprecedented changes

7. See Pr esiden t C. Ben ito J ua rez, “Man ifiesto del Gobier no Const itu cional a la Nación [Public Manifest of the Constitutional Government to the N ation],” July 7, 1859, reprinted in RAMIREZ, supra note 6, at 634-37. 8. See “Leyes de Refor ma [R efor ma ti on Acts ],” (185 9-63 ) reprinted in RAMIREZ, supra note 6, at 638-67. 9. See Diari o Oficial de la F edera ción [hereinafter D.O.], 27 de enero de 1993. 10. See MARTA EUGE NIA GARCÍA UGARTE, LA NUE VA RELACIÓN IGLESIA-E STADO EN MÉXICO [THE NEW CHURCH -STATE RELATION IN MEXICO] (199 3). 11. “Ley de Asociaciones Religiosa s y Cul to P úb lico [Re ligious Ass ocia ti ons Act] [hereinafter RAA],” D.O., 15 d e ju lio d e 19 92 (t ext ap pe ar s in App en dix ). D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

424 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [1998 to Mexico’s F eder al Constitu tion, th e newly est ablished lega l regim e on religiou s m atter s con tin ues to gen er ate ser iou s doubts and concerns. The policies beh ind th is major legisla tive development cannot be properly understood unless t he reader has a basic notion of the nature and scope of the church-state rela tion s in Mexico prior to the a dop tion of the Act of Religiou s Associations and Public Worship of 1992.

II. THE LEGAL REGIME ON RELIGIOUS MATTERS PRIOR TO THE CHANGES OF 1992 Most observers a gr ee that the le ga l r egime t he Mexican government has applied to religiou s associations in general, but more specifically in it s relat ions wit h t he Roman Cat holic Church, ha s been decidedly a nt icler ica l.12 For over a cent ur y, the officia l r ela tion s between the government and “the Church” (i.e., th e Roman, Apostolic, and Cath olic Church) have been based on a policy of extreme sepa ra tion. This legal r egime is found in Mexico’s Feder al Constitu tion an d was enacted in ea rly 1917 by a Con st it ution al Congress conven ed in Querétaro at the end of the revolution . Articles 3, 5, 24, 27 and, in particular, Article 130 of this fundam ental law, provide the legal policy that Mexico, as a na tion-sta te, officially applies in its relations with churches. Since its inception, th is lega l regime has been perceived as highly an ticlerical, extr eme, unfair, and as imposing very severe restrictions on religious associations. The legal regime’s application result ed in deva st atin g econ omic a nd p olit ica l effects on the Catholic Church. As a result of its perceived unfairness, the relat ions between church and state have followed a difficult path over very rugged terrain during most of th is centu ry. In Mexico, unlike other coun tr ies, a ny r eference to words such as church, freedom of religion, public wor sh ip, or religiou s association carries an idiosyn cratic con notation that it is associated with the Roman Catholic Church. The rea son is simple: for cent ur ies Mexico has been , an d continu es t o be, a

12. See GUILLERMO F. MARGADANT, LA IGLESIA ANTE EL DERECHO MEXICANO [THE CHURCH IN FRONT OF MEXICAN LAW] 163 -70, 183 -89 (1 991 ). D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 425 predomin an tly Catholic nation. It is only in recent decades, especially since the end of World War II, that Protestantism and other religious creeds have ven tu red int o Mexico. Within this context , it is logica l t o exp ect that official government statements on religious questions, wh et her by t he presiden t of Mexico, the secretary of the in ter ior or the low est st ate or loca l officials, carry t he expect ation that they have been crafted and directed at the Catholic Church, even though officially couched in the most generic term s. This peculiar connotation also applies to the use and construction of religious words or phrases in clu ded in Mexico’s domestic legislation, including its Feder al Con st it ution . Since 1917, when t his legal regim e was first enunciated, until 1992, wh en the Const it ution wa s ch anged to ameliorate the extr emeness of its ant iclerical policy, the church-state rela tion s may be described as having been highly sensitive, politically uncomfort able and lega lly d istant. From the official per spective of the Mexican government, any interference, involvement, or intrusion on the part of the Church in officia l or polit ica l affairs was deem ed to be not only illegal, but politically unacceptable. The Chu rch simply could not go beyond its clearly established legal and polit ica l bou nda ries wit hout incurring sever e pen alt ies . F rom the Rom an Catholic Church’s viewpoint , the legal an d political boundar ies esta blish ed by t he Mexica n govern men t were n ot only arbit ra ry, bu t a lso in viola tion of international pr inciples universally recognized by human rights conventions.13 From a comparative law perspective, it ma y be difficult to find a nation other than Mexico where the relations between church and state have been more distant and difficult. Historically, religious matters have always been under federal jurisdiction in Mexico. Article 73 of the 1917 Federal Con st it ution , which empowered th e Congress t o legislate, did not explicitly in clude power to legislate on religious matters. However, para gra ph 30 of Article 73 clarified that Congress had the power “to en act all laws that may be necess ary t o en force the foregoing powers . . . and all others granted by this

13. See W. WENDE LL BLANCKE, JUAREZ OF MEXICO 128 (197 1); J AMES A. MAGNER, MEN OF MEXICO 388 (1942). D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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Const itu tion to the Power s of the Un ion.”14 Since several articles of the Constitution expressly endowed the “Federal Powers” with exclusive jurisdiction on “matters of religious worship an d ext erna l disciplin e,”15 paragraph 30 may be construed as providing Congr ess with th e pow er to legisla te on religious matters. Articles 3, 5, 24, 27 and 130 of the Federa l Const itu tion govern religious questions from the viewpoints of education, la bor rela tion s, freedom of religion , property prohibition s imposed on religiou s associations, and the control and in ter ven tion exe rcised by t he “Feder al P owers” on matter s of religiou s worship, respectively. Taken as a whole, these articles const itute th e constitu tional policies Mexico adheres to in its rela tion s with religious groups, including the Roman Ca th olic Church. Thus, the am algama tion of these policies along with the feder al regu la tory st atutes (kn own in Mexico as leyes reglamentarias), enacted in the 1920s and 1930s, t ha t derive from and expand on the content of the Constitution’s articles, forms t he le ga l r egime t hat app lies t o religiou s a ss ocia tion s. 16

A. Ch urch -S ta te R elations

The major policies that govern church-state relations are found in Article 130 of the F eder al Constitu tion. In gen era l, there are three principles of paramount importan ce which mer it sp ecia l con sideration .

1. There must be a distinct separation between church and state Any religiou s a ss ociations in Mexico are strictly prohibited from int ervenin g in political ma tt ers or advancing any public criticism of the government, its official policies, or public officials at the federal, s tate or loca l levels. Th is policy of extrem e sepa ra tion between church and state may be traced back to the “Reformation Acts” (Leyes de R eforma), enacted

14. MEX. CONST. ar t. 73, ¶ XXX. 15. Id., art s. 130, 27. 16. See Articles 2 an d 3 of th e RAA, supra note 11, which enumerate several of th ese “regu lat ory a cts.” D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 427 during the administration of President Benito Juárez.17 The Act of Nat ionalization of Ecclesiastical Assets of 1859 provided, “[t]here shall be a perfect in dependence bet ween the a ffair s of State and those of a purely ecclesiastical nature. The government shall limit itself to protectin g with its authority the public worship of the Cat holic religion, as well a s any other.”18 To en su re t hat religiou s groups do n ot interfere with government, th e curren t Constitu tion manda tes that religiou s acts mu st ta ke place totally inside th e place of worship, with no external manifestations, whether directly or indirectly by means of a publication, r adio, or tele vis ion .19 In this regard, Article 130 of th e F eder al Con st it ution rea ds : “The Federal Powers shall exer cise th e supervision and control mandated by law in matters regarding religious worship and public eccle siast ica l manifestations. Other authorities shall act as au xiliar ies of th e Feder at ion.”20

2. Mexico is a secular country “Congress cannot enact laws esta blish ing or prohibit ing a ny religion.”21 As a corollary of this pr in ciple, the fr eedom to profess the r eligion of one’s choice, or the r igh t not to em br ace any religion wha tsoever, is exp ressly r ecogn ized by Article 24 of the Federa l Constit ut ion as a const itu tional r ight (known in Mexico a s a n “ind ivid ual gu arantee”).

3. Civi l sta tu s acts are under the exclusive jurisd iction of public authorities The second pa ragraph of Art icle 130 of the Federal Constitu tion states that, “[t]he Federal Congress has the exclusive power to legislate in m at ter s of public worship, churches and religiou s groups .”22 Fr om the Colonia l era un til the Reformation Acts in the middle of the nineteenth century, acts pertaining to the civil status of persons in Mexico, s uch as

17. See RAMIREZ, supra note 6, at 638-67. 18. “Ley de N acion ali zaci ón d e los Bien es E clesiás ticos [Act of Na tion ali zat ion of Ecclesiastical Assets],” ar t. 3, J uly 12, 1 859, reprinted in MARGADAN T, supra note 12, at 260. 19. See MEX. CONST. art. 24. 20. Id. art . 130. 21. Id. art . 24. 22. Id. art . 130. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

428 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [1998 adoption, baptism, birth, civil separation, confirmation, death, donations, interment and marria ge w er e u nder the con trol of the Cat holic Church, with no official intervent ion. The performance of these acts over several centuries, as well as the steady in come ge ner ated by t hem , gr adu ally ga ve t he Church an en ormous w ea lt h, wh ich translated in to formidable polit ica l power. The enactment of the Reformation Acts in general, and in particular the Civil Registry Act of 1859,23 were designed to deprive the Catholic Church of these powers. Since then, acts relat ing to the civil status of individuals have been governed by the applicable Civil Code and strictly conducted under the contr ol of Civil Registry officials.24 The severity of the official mea su res adop ted by t he Mexican government against t he Ca th olic Church becomes evident when one reads that, “the law does n ot recognize any lega l capacity to those religious associations called churches,” as provided by Article 130 of the Federal Constitut ion, prior to the 1992 amendment. From a legal viewpoint, this provision prevented religiou s ass ocia tion s in Mexico from en ter in g in to any kin d of contractual arrangemen ts with third parties, whet her legal entities or individuals. In other words, the Catholic Church was prevented from condu cting any lega l t ransa ction s in Mexico. The principal policies contained in th e Reformation Acts were event ua lly incorporated in the Federal Constitution of 1857 by means of an amendment in 1873,25 and later reproduced in the current Constitution of 1917.

B. Min isters of Religiou s Denom in at ion s Under the legal regime that existed prior to the chan ges of 1992, religious ministers were considered “persons who practice a profession . . . dir ectly subject to the la ws en acted on su ch

23. “Ley Orgá nica de l Registr o Civil [Organic Act of the Civil Registr y],” July 28, 1859 (en acte d by P res iden t J uá rez), reprinted in MARGADANT, supra note 12, at 268-69. 24. See MEXIC AN CIVIL AND COMMERCIAL CODES, art s. 2999-3074 (Abraham Eckst ein & E nr igh e Ze pe da tr an s., 199 5). 25. See MEX. CONST. ar ts. 1 -4 (1873), reprinted in MARGADANT supra note 12, at 273. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 429 matters.”26 Article 130 adds that “to practice the ministry of any denominat ion it is necessary t o be Mexican by birth ,” giving to state legisla tures som e power to deter min e, a ccordin g t o loca l needs, the maximum number of ministers. Article 130 also imposes additional restrictions: ministers may never criticize the fundam ental laws of the nation, have any active or passive vote,27 nor have th e right to associate for polit ica l pu rpos es. Me et in gs of a polit ica l character may not take place in temples and th e forma tion of any kind of political associations whose name includes a ny in dication of a religiou s ass ocia tion is st rict ly p rohibited by t he Const it ution .28 Furthermore, ministers may not inherit nor receive, dir ect ly or through a third party, title to an immovable asset occupied by any religious association or charitable institution. By constitutional manda te, m in ister s a re le ga lly in capa ble of becoming testamentary heirs of ministers of the same denominat ion or of individuals who are not related to them within the fourth degree.29

C. Temples and Other Places of Worship

Article 130 of the Federal Constitut ion also provides that to dedicate new places of worship open t o the public a perm it from the Secret ary of the Inter ior (Secretaría de Gobernación) must be obtained, with the prior consent of the governor of the state. In every temple there must be an in dividu al in charge of it, who is responsible to the aut horities for compliance with the laws on religiou s matter s a t the t em ple a nd for the object s u tilized for religious purposes. Based upon the so-called “Lerdo Act,” enacted under the admin istra tion of President Igna cio Com onfort in 1856, the government nationalized all rural and urban real estate

26. Under th is p re mi se, est ab lish ed b y Art icle 130 of the F ede ra l Con st itu tion , religious ministers are governed by the General P rofe ss ion s Act (Ley General de Prof esion es). However, this federal statute does not include any provisions applicable to said minister s. The sam e art icle provides that no official validation shall be given for any rea son to t he st ud ies cond uct ed in t he est ab lish me nt s de vote d t o th e professional teaching of religious ministers. 27. In Me xi co, t h e r ig h t t o v ot e i s k n ow n a s a n “a ctive vote.” The right to be voted int o office is deemed a “passive vote .” 28. See MEX. CONST. art . 130. 29. See id. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

430 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [1998 propert ies own ed by civil and eccles ia st ica l cor porations in Mexico. 30 A few years later, through another of his Reforma tion Acts, President Juárez nationalized all ecclesiastical assets.31 As a result of this, t he Catholic Church wa s d eprived of a ll of the vast immova ble ass et s it own ed through out the Republic, whether they consisted of churches, temples, cathedrals, chapels, conven ts, semin aries , or congr ega tion s. The same Act banned religious orders, prohibited the establishment or er ect ion of new conven ts a nd ot her religiou s groups, and mandated that printed material, manuscripts, paintings, antiquities and other objects owned by the banned religiou s communities be tr ansferred to museums, colleges, libraries and other public establishments.32 The legal consequences of this federal statute are still present in Mexico’s legal regim e toward religious groups. Thus, until th e const itu tional a mendment of 1992, religious groups were not legally permitted to own any real estate in Mexico. Moreover, an immovable asset used for the practice of any religiou s organization in that country (i.e., churches, temples, chapels, et c.), beca use of that mer e cir cumst ance, became ipso facto the property of the Mexican governmen t, subject to the provisions of the Gen er al Act of Na tion al Assets (Ley General de Bi enes N acionales).33 The legal ba sis for this policy is foun d in Art icle 27 of t he Federal Constitution which provides: Religiou s institutions known as churches, regardless of creed,

may in n o case ha ve t he [legal] capa city t o acqu ire, hold , or adm inister real proper ty nor hold m ortg ages th er eon ; su ch

30. See “Ley Lerdo: Decreto del Gobierno sobre De sa mor ti za ción de F in cas Rústicas y Urban as que Administren como Propietarios las Corporaciones Civiles o Eclesiásticas de la República [Decree Nationalizing Rural and Urban Real Estate Propert ies Administered as Owners by Civil an d Ecclesias tical Corpora tions in the Repu blic],” Jun e 25, 1856 , reprinted in MARGADANT, supra note 12, at 252-57. 31. See Act of Nationalization of Ecclesiastical Assets, July 12, 1859, repr in ted in MARGADANT, supra note 12, at 259-263. Pu rsu an t t o Article 1 of th is Act, “all the assets the secular and regular clergy has been managing through different titles, regardless of the t ype of prope rt ies, r ight s or s ha res , na me used and purpose given, sha ll enter t he direct ownership (Dom in io) of t h e N a t io n .” Id. at 260. 32. See id. at 260 -61 (r ep ri nt in g Ar ti cles 5, 6 , a nd 12). 33. See “Ley General de Bienes Nacionales [Gen era l Act of Nat ional Asset s],” D.O., 8 de en er o de 198 2 (a me nd ed 199 4). D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 431

property held at present either directly or through a third party sh all re ver t t o th e N at ion, granting popular action to denounce assets which may be found in such a case. Pr esump tive evidence shall be sufficient to declare the denunciation we ll founde d. P la ces of public worship are the property of the Nation, as represented by the Federal Governmen t wh ich sh all det er m in e w hich of th ose pla ces should continue to be devoted to the sam e purpose. Bishoprics, rectories, semina ries, asylums or colleges of re ligiou s associations, convents, or any other building built or intended for the administration, propaganda or teachin g of a re ligiou s cult sha ll be imm ediat ely transferred, as of full right, to the dir ect ownership (dominio) of the Nation, to be used exclu sively for th e p u blic se rvice s of t he Federation or of the States within th eir respective jurisdictions. All places of pu blic worship hereafter erected shall becom e the property of the Nation.34

D. Education

Article 3 of the Feder al Constitution governs public education in Mexico. Recognized as a constitutional right, public education in Mexico is free (from pr e-school t o the university level), national a nd mu st be impar ted in a manner which is completely removed from any religious doctrine and based upon the accomplishments of scientific progress. Article 3 expressly provides that religious corporations, ministers, or associations wh ich are r ela ted to any r eligiou s creed, shall not intervene in schools which impart elementary and secondary education, as well as education designed for workers and peasants.35

E. Freedom of R eligion

In Mexico, fr eedom of religion is a const itutional righ t guaranteed by Ar ticle 24 of the F eder al Con st it ution , wh ich provides: All are free to profess the religiou s belie f of th eir choice

and to practice the ceremonies, devotions, or obse rv an ces of their respect ive fait h, eith er in p laces of public wor sh ip

34. MEX. CONST. art. 27, ¶ II. 35. See id. ar t. 3, ¶ IV. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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(tem plos) or in their home, provided they do not constitute a crim e or offense pu nis ha ble by law. Every religiou s a ct of pu blic wor ship must be performed strictly in side places of pu blic wor sh ip, wh ich sh all at all times be under the surveillance (vigilancia) of the authorities.36

F. Banning of Religious Orders

Article 4 of the 1917 Federal Constitut ion banned the exist en ce of religiou s orders. As seen ea rlier, t he Act of Nationalization of Ecclesiastical Assets of 1859 constitut es the legislative pr ecedent to this pr ohibition .37 Accordingly, t oda y the Mexican government does n ot allow an y contr act, pact, or agreement to be entered into when its object involves the dimin ution , loss, or irrevocable sacrifice of any individua l’s freedom , wh et her by r ea son of wor k, ed ucation, or religiou s vow.38

G. Official Oaths

Since constitut ionally Mexico is a secular state, any in voca tion to God, or any other expression of a religious creed, is not permitted at any official cerem onies. Th e same prin ciple applies to the taking of an oath before Mexican courts or public authorities. Thus, Article 130 provides that a simple promise to tell the truth and to fulfill contractua l obligations is lega lly binding on the individual. In t he event of failure to do so, the individual in qu estion sh all be subject to the corresponding penalties imposed by the law.39 As a consequence of the mandates imposed by these constitutional provisions, a num ber of legal and social idiosyncracies become immediately apparent. For example,

36. See id. art. 24. 37. Article 5 of the 1859 federal statute expressly “suppresses regular mona stic orders which exist th rou ghout th e Re pu blic, w ha te ver th eir den omina tion or ad vocat ion wit h w hich th ey we re est ab lish ed, as well as an y br oth erhoods, sisterhoods or congre gat ions a tt ache d to r eligious commu nit ies, cat hed ra ls, parishes or any other chur ches.” Act of Nat ionalizat ion of Ecclesia stica l Asset s, J uly 12, 1 859, reprinted in MARGADANT, supra note 12, at 260. 38. See MEX. CONST. art . 4. 39. See id. art . 130. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 433 couples get tin g m arried usu ally have t o go through a dual marriage cer em ony, on e official and legal, conducted before the civil registr y official, and a subsequ ent religious wedding gener ally performed by a priest or other minister. Government officials are not allowed to invoke the name of God in any official cerem ony, nor to att end an y religious event in an official capacity. Catholic priests and nuns ar e prohibited from wearin g th eir religious vestments outside churches or convents and while in pu blic places. Mexican cour ts an d pu blic officials ar e prohibited from using a Bib le or makin g a ny r eligiou s in voca tion while takin g a n in divid ual’s oa th for judicia l or official purposes. P ublic sch ools are n ot allowed to condu ct any religiou s prayers and transm ission of religious ceremonies or programs by ra dio or television is not allowed in th e countr y. The major legal prin ciples tha t m ar ked th e drastic sepa ra tion between church and state in Mexico date back to the so-called “Reformation Acts” (Leyes de Reforma), ena cted in th e mid-nineteenth century at th e init iat ive of President Benit o Juárez. At the triumph of the 1910 Revolution, the same principles were codified in the Federal Constitu tion of 1917, notably Article 130, wh ere they ha ve been in force until 1992 when President Salina s de Gort ar i soften ed t hem t hr ough a series of constitutional changes.

III. THE MODERNIZATION OF MEXICO IN THE RELIGIOUS AREA Mexico’s “modernization” of the legal regime governin g religiou s associations, including the relations between church and state, was not an isolated phenomenon. In effect, it formed a part of a comprehensive modernization drive launched by the admin istra tion of Presiden t Sa lin as w hen he t ook office on December 1, 1988.40

40. See Car los Salin as de Gorta ri, Inaugura l Address (Dec. 1, 1988) (transcript ava ilable at P residency of Mexico, Office of the Press Secretar y to the President). In th is address, President Salinas declared: The modernization of Mexico is essential if we are to meet the demands of the 85 million Mexicans of today. . . . In brief, we nee d to m odern ize politics, the economy and society. The modernization of Mexico is, moreover, an absolute im perative. This is th e only way we will be a ble t o affir m ou r sovereignty in a wor ld u nd er goin g pr ofoun d t ra ns form at ion. Id. at 5. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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Mexico’s legal system became a target for this vigor ous “modernization” effort. The breadth and depth of th e legisla tive changes that took place during the six years of President Salinas’ administration (1988-1994) were impressive: almost fifty amendments to the Federal Con st it ution in the a rea s of polit ica l reform, agrarian law, indigenous peoples, human rights, economic activit ies of the state, criminal du e process, and chu rch-sta te relat ions. In a ddit ion, the Mexican Congress passed over 200 legislative bills which changed codes, federal statutes and regulations governing subject s su ch as economic competit ion , tortu re, metr ology and norma lization, treaty making, customs, foreign trade, corporations, an d foreign investm ent.41 In his third State of the Nation report, submitted to Congress on November 1, 1991, President Salinas said: [I]n Mexico, the present legal situation of the churches stem s

from political and economic historical reasons and not from doctrinal differen ces a bou t r eligious beliefs . . . Owing to past experience, the Mexican people do not wan t th e clergy to take part in p olitics or to accumulate material wealth . . . I therefore call for the promotion of a new legal position for the churches in accordance with the following principles: institutionalization of the separation between the State and the chur ches, resp ect for the freedom of religion of every Me xica n, and for the maintenance of secular education in pu blic schools. We sh all prom ote consis te ncy between what the law decrees and the daily conduct of citizens, taking another step forward toward domestic harmony within the framework of mode rn iza tion .42

President Salinas had two specific objectives when he proposed to change the legal regime of churches in Mexico: (1) str ength en his political legitim acy an d international recogn it ion ; and (2) be the first president of Mexico to successfully negotiate a legal regime t hat would replace the

41. For a legal analysis of some of these ma jor legislat ive chan ges, see J orge A. Varga s, Mexico’s Legal Revolution: An Appraisal of Its Recent Constitutional Changes, 1988-1995, 25 GA. J. INT’L & COMP. L. 497-559 (199 6). 42. Ca rlos Salin as de Gorta ri, Th ird St at e of the Un ion R epor t 59 (Nov. 1, 1991) (transcript available at P residency of Mexico, Office of the Press Secretary to the Pr es ide nt ). D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 435 legal framework establish ed by t he F eder al Con st it ution of 1917, which was openly rejected by th e Vatican since its in ception .43 Regar ding the fir st objective, it wou ld suffice to recall that the election of President Salina s was mar red by public denunciations of ele ctoral fr aud a dvanced by t he Revolution ary Democrat ic Party (Partid o de la Revolución Dem ocrática or PRD). Cuauthémoc Cárdenas, then PRD’s presidential candidate and today’s first elected governor of Mexico City, claimed that the election was st olen from him by M exico’s official party, the Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI).44 At the internation al level, President Salinas r eceived global acclaim and s pecia l r ecogn it ion from the Bush adm in istration for the successfu l negot ia tion of th e North American Free Trade Agreement (NAF TA) a nd for the developm en t of a new, m ore practical and mature bilateral relationship with t he Un ited States.45 Pope Pious XI strongly criticized the papal delegate’s exp ulsion from Mexico in 1924 in his letter Paterna sane sollicitudo, dated February 2, 1926. A few months lat er, in his encyclic Iniquis afflictisque (Nove mbe r 18 , 192 6), Piou s XI disapproved of Article 130 of the Federal Constitution of 1917 “for its host ility a gain st th e Cath olic Church.”46 In order to ameliorate the t horny r ela tion s bet ween the Mexican government and the Holy See,47 bot h pa rties en ter ed in to a practical oral arrangement in 1929 and then into a Modus Vivendi in 1938.48

43. See GARCÍA UGARTE, supra note 10, at 12. 44. See Vargas, supra note 41, at 510. 45. See ANDRÉS ROZEN TAL, LA POLÍT ICA EXTERIOR DE MÉXICO E N LA ERA DE LA MODE RNI DAD [MEXICO’S FOREIGN POLICY IN THE MODERN ERA] 58-66, 70-78, 131-36 (199 3). 46. GARCÍA UGARTE, supra note 10, a t 13. 47. See E. J. Berbu sse, Th e Unofficial Intervention of the United S tates in Mex ico’s Religiou s Crisis , 1926-1930, 23 AM. 28-63 (1965); L. Et ha n E llis, Dwight Mor row and the Church-S tate Con troversy , 38 HISPANIC. AM. HIST. REV. 482-505 (195 8). 48. For an ana lysis of this bitter conflict, see MARGADANT, supra note 12, at 183-89. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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A. PR I’s Rat ion ales for the Con stitutional Ch an ges No new legal regime with the Church could have been formulated without first changing the pertinent articles of the Federal Constit ut ion. Thus, on Decem ber 10, 1991, PRI’s political associa tion “Ch ange XXI” (Cambio XXI) submitted to the Chamber of Deputies (Cám ara d e Dipu tados) a legislative bill to amend Articles 3, 5, 24, 27 and 130 of the Constitution.49 The PRI’s bill advanced ma ny r at ionales t o just ify and explain the changes.

1. Evolvi ng id eas on th e church -stat e relat ion sh ip in Mexican society The Feder al Con st it ution wa s p romulga ted on February 5, 1917, and since then the Mexican society has evolved and changed. Conditions ha ve ripened to proceed to an open, informed, and careful revision of the church-state relat ionship under Mexican law.

2. Basic principles of a new church-state legal regime The new legal regime must respect th e following basic principles: (1) absolute respect for the freedom of beliefs; (2) sovereignty of the Mexican St ate; (3) clea r demarcation between civil and ecclesiastical questions; (4) legal equ alit y of all churches an d religious associat ions; an d (5) public secular education.

3. Legal capa city of church es and religi ous associations Alt hough the F eder al Con st it ution does n ot recognize any legal capacity for churches and religious associations, this does not mean th at th e govern ment does not have the power to regulate them. Once the absolu te supr em acy a nd independence of the state is recogn ized, the secu la riza tion of the Mexican society is gu aranteed, and s in ce ch urches exist as a de facto phenomenon, there should be no problem granting churches

49. For the t ext of this legislative bill, see GARCÍA UGARTE, supra note 10, at 151-80. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 437 and other religious associations a full legal capacity to engage in all kinds of acts under Mexican law.

4. Constitutional lim itations on holding property Once this legal capacity is granted, the property limitations imposed on these associations pursuant to Articles 27 and 130 of the Federal Constitution may be rem oved , a lt hough su bject to close govern ment scru tin y.

5. Extern al m an ifestat ion s of religi on Taking into consideration Mexico’s new social composition, a larger religiou s diversity, an d the existence of deeply rooted popular traditions, it is neither coherent nor justified to recogn ize, on the one hand, the freedom of religious beliefs, an d to pr ohibit any exter nal m anifes tation s of su ch beliefs, on the other. Religious acts of public worship sh ould ordinarily be celebrated within the physical confines of churches and temples, although they ma y take place, exceptionally, outside places of worship and subject to the applicable legal provisions.

6. Mexico’s secular n at ure and religi ous preferen ce Mexico’s secular na tu re is incompa tible with a preference for a given religious creed. Fur th erm ore, this secula r n at ur e also protects the individual who chooses not to have any religious beliefs whatsoever.

7. S pon sorin g rel igi ous ed ucat ion The Mexican State, as the guardian and protector of the freedom of religion , ca nnot pr omote or sp onsor any r eligiou s education. Pu blic education in Mexico mu st be secular .

8. Voting by religious ministers The principle that ministers of a religious denomina tion should not have a “passive vote” (i.e., the right to be elected to a public post) must rem ain in pla ce. This is based on the inherent nature of the religious ministr y which clearly demands it. Regar ding th e right to an “active vote” (i.e., the righ t t o vote in public elections), this political r ight should be granted. However, th e political part icipation of the Cat holic Church in D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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public elections goes openly against the sen sitivit y of the Mexica n people. Accordingly, politica l associations must not be linked to any religious organization, nor political assemblies be allowed t o take place in churches or other places of worship.

9. Prohibition of inheritance by religious ministers The civil nature of all acts pertaining to the civil status of persons mu st also remain in force, as well as th e prohibition for religiou s ministers to inherit from another minister or private individua l. In sum , th e P RI’s init iat ive objectively re cognize s the reality

that Mexico lives a nd at tem pt s n ow t o incor por at e tha t r ea lity in constitutional norms that enhance freedom and strengthen Me xico’s sovereignty. Th is r es u lts in a n ew con cep tion of th e legal sit uat ion ap plica ble to r eligious a ssociations which does not alter th e secular chara cter of the State a nd its official sepa ra tion from the churches. The Mexican people would like to live in fre ed om , as we ll as t o believe and to practice a re ligion in th at fre ed om . Bu t t he M exica n pe ople do n ot want the pa rt icipation of religions and churches in political activities, nor their econ om ic pr ep onde ra nce, clea rly bey ond th eir re ligiou s m ission.50

B. Changes to the Federal Constitution on Religious Matters

The decree containing the formal am endments to Articles 3, 5, 24, 27 and 130 of the Federal Constitution, once the constitutional procedure for amending the Constitution was complied with ,51 was published in the Diario Oficial of January 28, 1992.

50. Id. at 151-76. The nine ra tionales were ta ken directl y fr om the PRI’s initia tive for constitutional changes, with adjustments in their text in order to present them as asser tions. In some cases, direct tra nslation from th e initiative was used while in other cases a para phrasing style was used. 51. Article 135 of the Federa l Constitu tion, which gover ns th ese kin ds of changes, wa s cle ar ly in sp ir ed b y t he Un it ed S ta te s Con st it ut ion . Th e Me xica n procedure ma nd at es t ha t t he cha nges b e pa sse d by a tw o-thirds vote in Congress and be ap pr oved by a sim ple ma jor it y of Me xico’s th ir ty -one loca l legislatures. Congress (or the Com isión P erm anen te, as th e case may be) is empowered by the sa me Article 135 to count the votes of the legislatures a nd to an nounce tha t the amendments in qu est ion have been approved. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 439

1. Article 3 Paragraph I of Article 3, as amended, reiterated that public education in Mexico shall be secular, complet ely sepa rate fr om any r eligiou s a dvocation .52

2. Article 5

The opening paragraph of Article 5 now reads: “The State cannot permit th e entering int o any contract, covenant or agreement havin g a s its object the r estrict ion , los s, or irr evocable sacrifice of persona l freedom, for any r eason.”53 The final paragra ph, banning the establishmen t of any monastic orders, was deleted.

3. Article 24 Article 24 establishes freedom of religion as a constitutional right. Its final pa ragr aph wa s r evised in these t er ms: “Religiou s acts of external worship shall ordinarily take place inside the temples. Those acts wh ich, in extraordinary occasions, may be performed outside the temples, shall be subject to the reglamentary act” (Ley Reglamentaria).54

4. Article 27 The amendment to Article 27 is perh aps among the most sign ifica nt changes ma de to the legal r egime which Mexico h as applied to the Church and other religious associat ions since its origina l enactment in the Federal Constitut ion of 1917. New Paragraphs II and III of Article 27 read: II. Religious associations established in the term s of

Art icle 130 an d its regula tory a ct sha ll have [legal] capacity to acquire, poss ess or a dm inis ter, ex clusively, t he a sset s w hich

52. See D.O., 28 d e en er o de 1 992; see also supra note 35 a nd a ccompan ying text. To per ceive th e lega l sub sta nce of th ese cons tit ut ional chan ges m ore clea rly, t he reader may review Pa rt II of this Article. 53. D.O., 28 de enero de 1992; see supra note 37 and accompanying text. 54. D.O., 28 de ener o de 1992; see supra note 36 a nd accompanying text. Under Mexi co’s lega l sy st em , a “reg la me nt ar y a ct” (ley r egla m entaria) is a legisla tive enactment which directly derives from a specific article of the Federal Constitution, expanding or detailing the legal substance of the article in question. Article 130 of the Con st itu tion re gulat es r eligi ous ma tt er s. Accor din gly, t he RAA is t he re gulat ory act of Article 130. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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are indispensable for their object, with the requirements and lim ita tions est ablis hed by t he r egu la tor y a ct; III. Charitable institu tions, p ublic or pr iva te , wh ose object is to help needy people, scientific research, the dissem inat ion of educat ion, th e r ecip roca l assist an ce t o as socia te s, or an y other lawfu l object , can not acquire more imm ovable assets than those indispen sable t o their object, imm ediat ely an d dire ctly devoted to it, subject to wh at the regu latory a ct de te rm ines. . . . 55

5. Article 130 By and large, most of the principles defining th e legal regim e of churches were found in Article 130. As a result, most of the changes were directed at its text. Some of the major changes include: The h ist oric prin ciple of s eparation betw een church and

state guides the norms contained in this article. Churches and oth er religious as sociat ions sh all be su bject to t he law . It correspon ds exclusively to th e Congr ess of the Union to legisla te in matters of public worship and of churches and re ligiou s associations. The respective regula tory a ct, which shall be of a public order, sh all d evelop a nd det ail (concretará) the following provisions: a) Churches and religious associations shall ha ve legal capacity (personalidad jurídica) as r elig iou s a ssocia tions on ce th ey h ave obt ain ed t he ir corre spon din g re gist ry. Th e la w sha ll regulate said associations and determine the conditions and requirements for t heir corr esponding [official] registry (Registro constitutivo); b) Th e a uth orit ies sh all not in te rv en e in th e in te rn al life of religious associations; c) Mexicans may participate in the ministry of any creed. Mexicans, as we ll as for eign er s, shall comply with the requirements established by the law to that end; d) Pursua nt to the term s of the re gu lator y a ct, m inist er s of religiou s denomina tions cannot serve in public posts. As citizens they sha ll have t he r ight to vote, but not to be voted for. Th ose [m in ist er s] who ha ve a ba nd one d t he ir m inis tr y in advance and in the form prescribed by the law, m ay be ele cte d;

55. D.O., 28 de enero de 1992; see supra notes 33, 34 and a ccompan ying te xt. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 441

e) Min ist er s ca nnot a ssocia te th em selves for politica l purposes, nor conduct an y pros elyt izin g in favor or against any politica l candidate, party, or as sociat ion. N or ca n t he y in a pu blic as sem bly, in act s of wors hip or of religious propaganda, or in pu blica tions of a r eligious ch ar act er , opp ose th e la ws of the coun tr y or its inst itu tion s, n or offend (agraviar), in a ny form, the national emblems (sím bolos pa trios). The formation of any kind of political associations whose title has some word or indication of any kin d w hich relat es it to some religious creed is str ictly pr ohibit ed . No ga th er ings of a political nature may tak e place in any temples. The sim ple oath to tell the truth and to comply with certain obligations [legally] binds the individual who mak es them, subjecting such individual to the sanctions established by the law in case of violations. Ministers of a cu lt, t heir an cest ors , descendants, brothers, spouses, as well as the religious associations to which they belong, sh all be incap ab le of in her itin g by te st am en t fr om th ose in divid ua ls wh om sa id ministers h ave guided or assisted spir itu ally do not have any parentage within t he fourth degree. The acts pe rt ain in g t o th e civil st at us of in dividu als a re of the exclu sive juris dict ion of th e a uth orities in the terms provided by the law s, and sh all h ave the force a nd validity ma ndated by said laws. Federal, stat e, and m un icipal au th orit ies sha ll ha ve in these matters the powers an d responsibilities determined by the law.56

C. Mexico’s Constitutional Ch an ges a nd th e Holy S ee Observers have asserted that th ese const itutional changes were a sur prise to most Mexicans, and th at th e legal a nd polit ica l ra tionales for them were not explicit.57 However, a few politica l signs du rin g the admin istra tion of President Salinas clear ly suggested that a major change in the content and scope of th e relat ionship between church and state was already taking place. For exa mple, Pr esident Salinas invited eminent members of the Mexica n Episcopal Conference and the Apostolic Delegate t o the official cerem ony of the presidentia l

56. D.O., 28 de enero de 1992. Many of these legal principles were reproduced verba tim in th e RAA of 1992. 57. See GARCÍA UGARTE, supra note 10, at 16. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

442 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [1998 transfer of power.58 In his ina ugu ra l speech, President Salinas declar ed tha t “his adm in istration wa s t o en ga ge in the policy of modernizing the relations that the Mexican State maint ained with religiou s a ss ocia tion s a s a consequ en ce of a social necessit y.”59 A few years later , once the corresponding legal regime had been thorough ly r evised, this policy led to the official reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Mexico a nd with the Holy See in late 1992. When it is recalled that these rela tion s ha d been in terr upted for 133 year s, since the passing of the Reformation Acts, the reestablish men t of these r ela tion s was pu blicly a cknowle dged as a sign ifica nt triumph of Mexico’s diplomacy.60 The new policy adopted by the administration of President Salinas toward the Catholic Church was st rengt hened by the visit of Pope John Paul II to Mexico in May of 1990, which was then recipr ocated by Pr esident Salinas’ trip to the Holy See in July of 1991. From an international law viewpoint, the amendments to the Federa l Const itu tion on religious mat ter s and th e passin g of the 1992 RAA open ed the le ga l a ven ue which wa s n eeded for the formal negotiations which finally led to full diploma tic rela tion s between Mexico a nd t he H oly See in Sept em ber of 1992.61 IV. COMMENTS TO THE 1992 ACT ON RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS

With the officia l publication of the Act of Religiou s Ass ocia tion s and Public Worship, Mexican law added a n ew bran ch—“Mexican E cclesiastical Law.”62

58. See ROZEN TAL, supra note 45, at 132. 59. Id. 60. See id. at 131. It should be pointed out that on February 11, 1990 President Salinas an d P ope J ohn Pa ul II re ach ed an un derstan ding in which Mexico and the Holy See would exchange “personal representatives” endowed with the imm unities and privileges equivalent to diplomatic agents. However, it was agreed that these appointments “neither implied the recognition of the Cath olic Ch ur ch in Mexi co, nor the es t a bl is h m en t of d ip lo m a t ic r el a t io n s .” Id. at 134. 61. See id. The relat ions between Mexico and the Holy See were established at the leve l of Em ba ssy an d Apos toli c Nu ncia tu re , re spe ctiv ely, i n t he per son s of Amb as sa dor Agustín Téllez Cruces, former Chief Justice of Mexico’s Supreme Court, and Mon sign or G irolam o Pr igion e, P ap al N un cio. 62. See JOSÉ LUIS SOBERANES FERNÁNDEZ, SECRETARÍA DE GOBERNACIÓN, D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 443

Another innovation which became clearly associated with this federal statute was the direct involvement of Mexico’s four major political parties, (1) PRI, (2) PAN, (3) PRD, and (4) PARM, as well as th eir political ability t o produce a fina l legislative text wh ich reflected a general compromise.63 The new Act is formed by thir ty-six ordina ry art icles divided int o five titles and five transitory art icles.64 Pursuant to Mexico’s Federal Constitution, the President of the Republic, jointly with the depu ties and the senators of the Congress of the Union and th e st at e legisla tu res, has “the right to introduce laws and decrees.”65 Anticipating the complexity and diverse conten t of this new st at ut e, Pr esident Salinas, in conjunction with the PRI’s Executive Committee, decided that the PRI’s members of Congress should formu late a legisla tive init iat ive which would open avenues for a successful, but negotiated, outcome.66 The PRI’s legislat ive bill wa s finalized on June 25, 1992, and the other three bills of the respective opposition political parties soon followed.67

ESTUDIOS JURÍ DICO S E N TO RNO A LA LEY DE ASOCIACIONES REL IGI OSA S Y CULTO PÚBLICO [LEGAL STUDIES REGARDING THE ACT OF RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS AND PUBLIC WORSHIP ] [hereinafter E STUDIOS JURIDICOS] 5 (1994) (introductory remarks); see also ALBERTO PACHECO, TEM AS DE DERECHO ECLESIÁSTICO MEXIC ANO [TOPICS OF MEXIC AN ECCLESIATIC LAW] (199 3). 63. See CRÓNICA DE LA LEY DE ASOCIACIONES REL IGI OSA S Y CULTO PÚBLICO [A CHRONOLOGY OF THE ACT OF RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS AND PUBLIC WORSHIP ] [here inafter CRÓNICA], Cámar a de Diputados, LV Legislature, Archivo General de la Nación, Pa laci o Legi sla tiv o (1992 ) (RAA adv isor y committee’s not es). This ch ronology reproduces th e text of each of the legislat ive bills su bm it te d by th e fou r p olit ica l part ies as we ll as a ll of the oth er official documen ts wh ich wer e gene ra ted d ur ing the bicameral legislative process. 64. The complete text of this Act appea rs a t t he en d of this Ar ticle. See infra APPE NDIX. 65. MEX. CONST. art. 71, ¶ I. 66. See Artu ro Zaldívar Lelo de La rr ea, La Nu eva Ley de Asociaciones Religiosas y Cu lto P úb lico,16 REVISTA DE INVESTIGACIONES JURÍ DICAS DE LA ESCU ELA LIBRE DE DERECHO 533 (199 2). 67. These bills include: (1) PRI’s initiative—Iniciativa de L ey d e As ociaci ones Religi osas y Cu lto P úb lico of June 25, 1991 (formed by thirty-six art icles); (2) initia tive of Par ti do Acci ón Na cion al (PAN )—Iniciativ a d e Ley de Libertades y As ociaci ones Rel igios as of J un e 25 , 19 91 (for me d by n in et ee n a rt icle s); (3 ) initiative of th e Revolutionar y De mo cra ti c Par ty (RDP )—Iniciativa de Ley en Materia de Li bert ad es Rel igios as, (formed by twen ty-nin e ar ticles); and (4) the in itiative of th e Partido Aut én ti co de la Rev olu ción Mex ica na (PAR M)—Ley Federal de Cultos of June 18, 1991 (formed by t hir ty-seven ar ticles). The ot her two political parties: Partido Popular Socialista (PPS) an d Par tido del Fren te Cardenist a d e Re cont ru cción Nacional, did n ot su bmit an y init iat ives. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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According to the legislative procedure est ablished by Article 71(II) of th e Feder al Con st it ution ,68 these four bills were sent to the Commission of the Interior and Constitutional Issues (Comisión de Gobern ación y Puntos Con stitucion ales) of th e House of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados) for its opinion and final resolut ion. On J uly 2, 1992, this Commission produced a conference draft amalgamating the four bills which was then sent for debate and eventual approval to the House of Deputies.69 The approved version was then sent to the Senate which, after th e correspondin g deba te, finally approved it on July 13, 1992.70 The final text of the federal statute was published in the Diario Oficial on July 15, 1992.71 The 1992 Act consists of the following five titles: I. General Provis ion s (Articles 1-5); II. Religious Associations (Articles 6- 20); III. Religiou s Act s of P ublic Wor ship (Articles 21-24); IV. Authorities (Art icles 25-28 ); an d V. Violations, Sanctions and Administrative Appeals (Articles 29-36). A brief legal comment regarding each of these will follow.

A. Title I: General Provisions In symmetry with the Feder al Constitut ion, the 1992 Act ratified th e separ at ion bet ween church an d st at e, now elevated to the category of an “historic principle,” and freedom of religious beliefs, recognized a s a constitu tional r ight . The Act determines that, because of the importance of its content, the provis ion s a re t o be pu blicly observed through out Mexico. In accordance with th e na tion’s official policy of being a secular st ate, it is manda ted that religiou s con vict ion s m ay not exempt one fr om complia nce wit h the la ws of the country, and that, accordingly, n o one may evade any legal responsibilities and obliga tion s for religious reasons. This provision, enunciated in Article on e of t he RAA, may be deem ed to be in viola tion of

68. See CRÓNICA, supra note 63, at 51. 69. See id. at 55-70. Articles 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 21, 22, 23, 25, 29 and 32, were app roved b y 408 vote s in fa vor a nd 1 0 aga inst . Th e e nt ir e Act was a pproved by 408 votes in favor. S ee id. at 88. 70. See id. at 73-88. The Act was fina lly a ppr oved by for ty-s eve n vote s in favor and one a gain st. S ee id. at 115. 71. See id. at 120-28. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 445 the individual gu arantee of freedom of re ligious beliefs exp ressly consecrated by Ar ticle 24 of the F eder al Con st it ution . Furthermore, th e same provision may be interpreted as an infringement on human righ ts con fer red by Ar ticle 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.72 Certain religions oppose the use of militar y force, milit ar y training, an d even th e ha ndling of milit ar y weapons. Article 31(II) of Mexico’s Feder al Con stitution, on the other hand, imposes upon citizens the obligation t o receive th e milit ar y instr uction mandated by the app lica ble la ws . According t o the new RAA, no Mexican citizen would be exempt from r eceiving military instruction or training, or being r ecruited int o military service, even in the case of a Mexican national whose religion forbids them. This hypothetical becomes more relevant considerin g th at Mexico is a pa rty to the U niversa l Declaration of Hu man Rights. Pursuant to Article 133 of Mexico’s Federal Con st it ution , treaties and international conventions entered into by th e Pr esident of th e Republic, and approved by the Senate, become the suprem e law of the u nion. Th erefore, it would seem that the prohibition contain ed in the secon d para gra ph of Article 1 of the RAA is unconstitu tional. Since Mexico is a secular state, it is the state that exercises exclusive authority in matters pertaining to the observan ce of the laws, th e mainten ance of public order and morality, and the protection of right s of third parties with respect to any religiou s manifestation, whether in dividu al or collective. Fu rt her, n o preferen ces or pr ivileges can be establish ed in favor of any religion , church, or religiou s a ss ocia tion .73 Consequently, acts pertaining to the civil sta tu s of individuals fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the authorities in the terms provided by th e applicable laws. In more specific terms, the official identification docu men ts, su ch as t he “Elect oral I.D. card” (Credencial de Elector), for instance, shall not contain any mention of the r eligiou s beliefs of the in divid ual in qu estion .

72. Article 18 of t hi s D ecla ra ti on pr ovid es th at , “fre ed om of th ought, conscience, and religion” includes the r ight to change th eir religion or belief “and freedom, either alone or in community with others a nd in public or private, to man ifest their religion and be li ef in t ea ch in g, pr a ct ic e, wo r s h ip a n d o bs er va n ce .” Universa l Decl ar at ion of Human Rig ht s, G .A. Re s. 2 17, U. N. Doc. A/8 10, at 71, 74 (1 948 ). 73. See RAA art. 3, D.O., 15 de julio de 1992. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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The RAA reiterates that the simple oath to tell t he t ru th legally binds the in dividual wh o makes it.74 In its committee notes (dictámen),75 Congress underscored the commitment of the Mexican State to the recognition and

enjoyment of certa in in di vid u a l r igh ts, i n ter a lia : a) To have or adopt the relig iou s belie f of one ’s own pr efere nce a nd t o practice, in an in div idu al or collect ive manner, the corr esp ond ing acts of worship or rights; b) Not to profess any re ligiou s beliefs, abstain from an y religious worship or rites, and n ot to be lon g t o a n y r eligiou s a ss ocia tion ; c) To p ea cefu lly associate or a sse m ble for religious pur poses; and, e) Not to be the object of discrim inat ion, coer cion or h ost ility be cau se of religious beliefs.76

B. Title II: R eligiou s A ssociations For almost 150 years religious entities in Mexico were deprived of any legal capacity. In consonance with t he amendment to Art icle 130 of th e Federal Constitu tion, this probably represents one of the most important legal pronouncemen ts—recognizing that churches and certain religiou s ent ities have legal capacity (personalidad jurídica) under Mexican law as “religious a ssociations,” once they ha ve obtained the necessar y official registry (i.e. registro constitutivo) from the Secretary of the Interior. Legal rights and obliga tion s are the same befor e t he la w for all r eligiou s a ss ocia tion s a nd shall be govern ed by t heir own regula tions (i.e. estat utos), which sh all con tain the fundamental bases of the doctrine and body of religiou s beliefs. Th ey s hall a lso set forth th eir representatives an d describe their in tern al a dministr at ive str ucture. Under Mexican law, it is also essentia l t hat religiou s association s not engage in an y lucrative activities whatsoever and to be in str ict compliance with Mexico’s Federal Constitution and other applicable laws. In order to obta in t heir official registry r eligious associa tion s must prove that within the ambit of the Republic

74. See id. art . 4. 75. See Crónica, supra note 63, at 95 (Dictamen a la Ley de Asociacion es Religi osas y Cu lto P úb lico). 76. Id. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 447 of Mexico they h ave devoted t hem selves, for a min imu m of five years, to the pra ctice an d pr opagation of a religious doctrine which enjoys popular acceptance (notorio arraigo).77 These associations must also have, as indicated ear lier, their own regulations, and must demonstrate that their immovable assets, if any, have been acquired in full compliance with th e specific pr ovis ion s of Ar ticle 27, P aragr aph s (I ) and (I I), of the Feder al Con st it ution . Under the RAA, religious associations are granted the following rights: (1) to ide ntify t hem selves by mea ns of a n exclusive denomina tion; (2) to freely organ ize with in t heir internal structures, in clu ding t he for mation and d esign ation of minist ers; (3) t o cond uct religiou s a cts of public wor sh ip; (4) to propagate their doctrine and to participate in th e establishmen t and functioning of charitable institutions (instituciones de asistencia privada), wh et her in the a rea s of edu cation or health, provided they do not involve any lucrative goals; and (5) to use in an exclusive manner, for religious purposes, assets belonging to the nation in the terms dictated by the a pplicable regu la tion s (regl am ento). It deserves t o be noted t ha t a lth ough the RAA was enacted on J uly 15, 1992, as of the wr itin g of this Article the regulations have not yet been en acted. In accorda nce wit h Article 123 of t he F eder al Con st it ution , the labor rela tions bet ween religious associations and th eir workers ar e to be governed by th e applicable la bor laws, nam ely the Federal Labor Act (Ley Federal del Trabajo). Me mbers of religiou s associa tion s a re t hose adu lt in divid uals wh o are recognized as “associated members” (asociados) in conformity with th e per tin ent regu lat ions of each a ssociat ion. In Mexico, individua ls become cit izens (i.e., a du lt hood) when they r ea ch eighteen years of age.78 The RAA provides that “religious ministers” are to be deter min ed by each ass ocia tion wh ich must report th is decision to the Secretary of the Interior. Otherwise, the Act stipu lates that said minister s will be “deemed to be those individuals who perform as t heir pr in cipal occu pa tion the function s of d ir ect ion , represen ta tion or man agement .”79

77. See id. at 96. 78. MEX. CONST. art. 34, ¶ I. 79. RAA art . 12, D.O., 15 de julio de 1992. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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For over a cent ur y, foreigners were not legally allowed to engage in a ny r eligious activities in Mexico. Departing from this policy, the new RAA provides that not only Mexicans but also foreigners m ay exer cise t he m in istry of any r eligion . However, foreigners mu st prove their la wful admission int o Mexico and p oss ess t he n ecess ary im migr ation st atus w hich “does not interfere with the conduct of religious activities, as provided by the General Population Act (Ley General de Pobl ación).”80 Another sensitive issue which traditionally darkened the rela tion s between the Catholic Church and the Mexican government wa s t he prohibition on religious ministers that prevented them from vot in g a nd s er vin g in any public pos it ion . The new RAA provides that “Mexican citizens who exercise the ministry of any cult ha ve th e righ t t o vote in the terms provided by the applicable electoral legisla tion.”81 However , t hey ca nnot be elected to any important public position s (cargos p úblicos superiores) “unless t hey a re separa ted from t heir min istry in a formal, material and definite manner, at least five yea rs p rior to th e da y of the election in question in the first case or three years prior to the formal acceptance in the latter case. Six months will su ffice regarding a ny other positions.”82 In Mexico, the right to vote and to be voted into office are commonly kn own a s an “active vote” an d “passive vote,” respectively. 83 Although the tenor of Article 14 of the RAA represents a clear advance when compa red wit h the ou trigh t pr ohibition that applied to priests and other r eligious minister s in the past, the RAA still main tain s a restrict ive policy con cernin g the “passive vote” of religious m inisters. For exam ple, according t o the Federa l Code of Electoral Institutions and Procedures

80. See Jorge A. Var gas, The I m m igr at ion La w of Mex ico, in MEXICAN LAW: A TREATISE FOR LEGAL PRACTITIONERS AND INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS (Jorge A. Vargas ed., 199 8). 81. RAA ar t. 14, D.O., 15 de julio de 1992. In Mexico, ele ctoral matters are regulat ed by the “Código Federal de Instituciones y Procedimientos Electorales [Federal Co de of E le ct or a l I n s t it u t io n s a n d P r oce du r es ], ” D.O., 15 de agosto de 1990 [hereinafter COF IP E]. F or a n a na lysi s of Me xico’s elect ora l re form, see Vargas, supra note 41, at 509-28. 82. RAA art . 14, D.O., 15 de julio de 1992. 83. See CRÓNICA, supra note 63, at 96. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 449

(Codigo Fed eral de In stitucion es y Procedim ien tos Electorales) (COFIP E), highly placed public servants may run for electoral posts simply by renouncing the positions they h old one year in advance.84 In contrast, priests and other religious minister s must renounce their ministr y in a definite manner should they decide to run for an important public office. It should be evident, therefore, that religious m inisters contin ue to receive what may be considered constitutiona lly unequal or legally discriminatory treatment. Can a state legally depr ive its own citizens of their righ ts to in her it by m ea ns of domestic legislation, or subject these rights to sp ecific lim it ation s or condition s? Again, since the enactment in 1874 of one of t he Refor mation Acts t his pr ohibition has burdened Mexican priests and other religious ministers.85 Unlike other drastic changes made by the RAA, the Act preserves this inequit y. Ar ticle 15 p rovides that minister s of a cult, th eir a scendan ts, descendant s, brothers, spouses, as well as religious associations to which they belong, shall be incapable of inher it in g by testamen t from those individuals to whom said ministers ha ve guided or assist ed spiritu ally, a nd who do not have any parentage within the fourth degree. From the per sp ect ives of both Mexican law and international law, it appears that this prohibition may be characterized as u nconst it ution al a nd in viola tion of human rights, respectively. This pr ohibition is unconst it ution al because it unduly restricts religious m in ister s fr om the enjoyment of inherit an ce righ ts gua ra nt eed by the Federal Constitution and by t he fu nda men tal prin ciples of Mexico’s legal syst em, t hu s su bjecting them to unequal treatment. Furthermore, Article 5 of the Const itu tion guarantees any individual in Mexico, whet her a Mexica n nation al or a foreigner, to engage “in the profess ion al, indu st ria l or commer cial pursuit or occupat ion of his choice, provided it is lawful.” Accordingly, it would seem unfair that a religious minist er in Mexico, e xer cisin g a const it ution ally protected

84. See COFI PE ar t. 7, ¶ ¶ c, e, f, D.O., 15 de agost o de 1990 (providin g qualifications to b ecom e a fede ra l re pr ese nt at ive or sen at or); see also MEX. CONST. art. 55(V). 85. “Decreto del Con gres o” art. 8, Dec. 14, 1874, reprinted in MARGADANT, supra note 12, at 275. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

450 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [1998 right, is bein g penalized by a prohibition on th e protected civil righ t to inherit. This prohibition does not apply to any other occupation in Mexico. From an international human rights viewpoint , it may be argued that any restriction or limit ation on an individual’s legal sphere of right s, includin g th e right to inherit, constitutes an infringement on their human rights. One of the most detrimental blows in flict ed upon the Catholic Ch urch by t he Refor mation Acts of 1856 was the “nationalization” of all its im men se wea lth in real estate properties.86 This legal restriction was m aint ained by Article 27 of the 1917 Constitu tion. The 1992 Act radically changed this policy to allow the Ca tholic Church and ot her religiou s associations to possess im movable ass et s, bu t only in sofa r as these assets are in dispensable in fulfilling th eir religious goals. The RAA clear ly stat es, for exa mple, th at religious associations cannot possess or m an age, eit her directly or thr ough a th ird party, any concessions for radio or television stations or for any other type of t elecommunications; nor possess or manage mass media corpor ation s, sa ve for the publication of printed material for religious purposes.87 The Secretary of the Interior plays a crucial discretionary role in these matters. For example, it is the only federal agency empowered to issue an opinion regar ding the “indispensable” character of the im movable ass et s t hat religiou s a ss ocia tion s intend to acquire un der an y title, or in rela tion with inheritance cases in wh ich a religiou s a ss ocia tion becomes an heir or legatee, or when a religious association intends to become a trust beneficiary. F urther more, r eligiou s a ss ocia tion s m ust register at the Departmen t of the Inter ior “a ll immovable assets they own or posses, without prejudice of complying with any

86. See supra note 31 and accompanying text. 87. See RAA ar t. 16 , D.O., 15 de ju lio de 1992. “Concession” is the term used in Mexican a dmin istr at ive law t o refer t o the au th orizat ions, perm its, or licences issued by the different agencies of the federal executive, depending on their jur isd icti on, in favor of a comp an y or an individu al to conduct a n a ctivity, provide a serv ice or obtain a right. For example, the Department of Communications and Tr an spor ta tion is l ega lly e mp owe re d t o iss ue “conce ss ion s” for th e est ab lish me nt of ra dio or t elevisi on s ta tion s in Mexi co. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 451 other obligations on these matters, as mandated by other stat ut es.”88 Entities must register the names of the representatives responsible for asset s such a s churches, temples, or asset s of an ar cheological, artistic, or historic character owned by the Mexico but utilized or possessed by religious associat ions wit h the Secretary of Social Development (Secretaría de Desarrollo Social) and th e National Council for the Culture and the Arts (Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes).89 Evidently, these representatives are to be held lia ble in the ca se of an y damage or injury to the assets. Unlike the preferen tia l t rea tmen t religiou s a ss ocia tion s gener ally receive on tax matters in a number of countries, in Mexico these non-profit entities, as well as religious ministers, are “subject to the tax provisions in t he term s pr ovided by t he applicable legisla tion.”90

1. Regis try of religi ous associations For any church or religious association to be endowed with legal recognition in Mexico, as pr ovided by the RAA, it must first obtain t he corr esponding official registry from the Secretary of th e Interior.91 Alt hough Article 7 of t he Act enumerates th e specific requir ement s tha t t he a pplying religiou s association must sat isfy in order t o obtain th e corresponding official registry, it seems that the ample discret ion the Departmen t of the Inter ior utilizes to const rue the new Act will not to dissipate u ntil t he cor res pon ding RAA’s regu la tion s ar e properly published in the Diario Oficial. Despite the fact that more than six years have already elapsed since the RAA was enacted, as of the writin g of this Article,th e RAA’s regula tion s con tin ue t o be pr ivy only t o Depa rtmen t of Inter ior officials, in detriment to the inter ests of religiou s association s an d the people of Mexico. It is expected tha t t his situation will be corrected as soon as possible. During 1995, 1,091 registr y applica tion s w er e r eceived by t he Departmen t of

88. Id. art . 17. 89. See id. art . 20. 90. Id. art . 19. 91. See id. art . 6. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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Interior, of which 793 r eligious associat ions were officially authorized.92 Dur ing th e per iod from December 1992 t o Ju ly 1997, 5,846 registry applications were received. Out of this tota l, 189 are currently being processed, 626 were canceled or withdrawn, and 5,031 r eceived t he corresponding au th orization. A condensed lis tin g of th e first 1,966 officially recogn ized r eligiou s associations appear ed in a r ecent book jointly publish ed by t he Department of the Inter ior an d Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM).93

2. Religiou s associations by geograph ical locat ion Mexico City has the high est number of religiou s associations (882 ), followe d by the States of Nu evo León (343), Tamaulipas (299 ), México (274), and Coah uila (271). The states with the lowest number of religiou s a ss ociations include Yuca tán (59), Ca mpeche (45), Aguascalientes (19), Tlaxcala (15), Colima, (12) and Baja Ca lifor nia Su r and Quintana Roo (10).94

3. Religiou s associations by creed Classified by creed, the officially registered 5056 religiou s associations may be divided into seven categories.95

Catho lic (2573) Protestant (2444) Orienta l (14)

Roman (2559) Evangelic (1025) Orient alists (2)

92. GEN ERAL DIRECTORATE OF NORMATIVITY AND SANCTIONS, MEXICO DEP’T OF INTERIOR, ANNUAL REVIEW OF 1995 (199 6). In 1992, 3 religious associations’ applications were gra nt ed followed by 990 in 1993, 1,938 in 1994, 793 in 1995, 914 in 1996, and 393 in 1997. Fr om 1992 t o 1997 t he re wer e a tot al of 5 ,031 re ligiou s as socia tion app lication s th at wer e gra nt ed. See SECRETARÍA DE GOBERNACIÓN, RELIGIÓN Y SOCIE DAD (Dec . 19 97). 93. See ESTUDIOS JURÍDICOS, supra note 62, at 201-65. 94. See ANGEL ANDRADE RODRÍGUEZ, UNDERSECRETARY OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS, MEXICO DEP’T OF INTERIOR, HISTO RIA DE LA DIRECCIÓN GENERAL DE ASUNTOS RELIGIOSOS [H ISTORY OF THE GENER AL DIRECTORATE OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS] 67-88 (Dec. 1997 ). Th e a ut hor exp re sse s h is s ince re th an ks to L ic. Norma Du rán Rodríguez Arana, Advi sor to t he Gene ra l Di re cto ra te of Religi ous Affa irs at the Dep ar tm en t of the In te rior, for pr ovidin g an ad van ced cop y of th is n ew a nd im por ta nt pu blica tion . 95. See SECRETARÍA DE GOBERNACIÓN, REL IGI ÓN Y SOCIE DAD 72-73 (Dec. 1997). D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 453

Orthodox (3) Bapt ist (1108) Buddhist (6)

Antioqueña (2) Pen tecostal (236) Islamic (2)

Greek (1) Meth odist (6) Krishn a (3)

From Moscow (1) Presbyterian (56) Hind u (1)

Mexican (2) Interden ominational (2)

Trento (5) Mormon (1)

Adventist (2)

Luth eran (7)

Anglican (1)

Je wish (9) Spiritualist Mexican Other (2) (38) Chu rch (6)

Jewish (9) Trinitarian Jehovah Mar ian (33) Witnesses (2)

Fidencista (1)

Oth er (4)

The preceding data clearly suggests that Mexico is a country with a very large number of religious associations and creeds.

4. Religious associations and immovable assets According to the data gat hered by J uly of 1997, the Department of the Inter ior authorized a total of 6,495 imm ovable asset s to be incorporated to the patrim ony of religious associations between 1993 an d 1997, including 1,685 in 1993, 1,924 in 1994, 1,285 in 1995, 914 in 1996 and 435 in 1997.96

96. See id. at 81 (Gr ap h 8 : Inm uebles Autorizados a las Asociaciones Religiosas para Incorporarlos a su Patrimoinio). D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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5. Other authorizations D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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A total of 546 religious transm issions by non-print ed mass media were aut horized by t he Department of the Interior, including 32 in 1993, 26 in 1994, 98 in 1995, 56 in 1996 and 546 in 1997. Denials from 1994 to 1997 consisted of 2, 38, 11 and 10, respectively, for a total of 61.97 Interestingly, the Department of the Inter ior au th orized 1095 foreign m inister s in 1996 an d 3692 in 1997 to exercise their religious min istry in Mexico. 98 Unlike the Unit ed St ates, wh er e r adio and t ele vis ion religiou s broadcasts are daily events (including shortwave radio transmissions directed at specific world regions in different languages ), religious associations in Mexico may only t ra nsmit religiou s ra dio and television program s as an except ion, once the corresp onding authoriza tion from the Departmen t of th e Inter ior ha s been expressly gr anted. With the caveat that even when authorized, said radio and television religious program s may not be tr ansmitted during th e air tim e allocat ed for official br oadcasts. In consonance with t he prohibitions enum era ted in Article 130 of t he F ed er al Const it ution , t he RAA reiter ates that no ga ther in gs of a polit ica l n ature m ay t ake pla ce in tem ples or churches.99

C. Title III: Religious Acts of Public Worship Title 3 begins by reiterating the norm established by Article 24 of the F eder al Constitu tion, that religious acts of public worsh ip sh all or dinarily take pla ce in side the ch urches or temples. However, the new federal statute adds that in exce pt ion al circumstances these acts may take place outside the temples. In su ch cases, the r eligiou s a ss ocia tion s or gan izing these public events must give notice to the pu blic authorities fifteen days in advan ce, indicating t he place, date, hour, a nd the reason for the int ended event.100 However, since the est ablish men t of the Subdir ect orate of Norms and Sanctions in late 19 92, the Departmen t of th e Inter ior has authorized an im pr essive t otal of 16,02 8 public acts

97. See id. at 82 (Gr ap h 1 0: Actos Religiosos de Culto Publico Transm itidos de Manera Ex tra ord in ari a por Med ios M asi vos d e Com un icacion N o Im pres os). 98. See id. at 86. (Gra ph 13: An uen cias a M in ist ros d e Cu lto E xtr an jeros). 99. See RAA art. 21, D.O., 15 de julio de 1992. 100. See id. art s. 21-22. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

456 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [1998 of wor sh ip between 1993 and J uly 4, 1997. Th is consists of a total of 382 in 1993, 1,442 in 1994, 5,582 in 1995, 6,844 in 1996 and 1,778 in 1997. The followin g n umber of app lica tion s for public acts of worsh ip were den ied from 1994 to 1997: 15, 75, 152, and 13, for the r espective yea rs, for a total of 255 over that four-yea r period.101 D. Title IV: Authorities RAA is quite explicit in a ssert ing t ha t it is to be applied by the federal execut ive power th rough the Secretary of the Interior. State and municip al a uthorit ies , a s w ell as t hose of the Federal District (Mexico City), will assist th e execut ive in the t er ms m anda ted by t he 1992 Act . In Mexico, the Department of the Inter ior is unqu estionably the most powerful federal agency. It occupies the a pex of the federal public administr at ion, regulated by th e Federal Public Administration Act.102 In gen er al, t he Departmen t of th e Inter ior controls and promotes political activities throughout Mexico, handles relations between the executive power an d the other federal powers, state governments, and municipal authorities, formulat es and applies immigra tion policies, including the expulsion of undesirable aliens, structures and implements civil protection programs, provides support to the federal judicia l power, controls the radio, television, movies, and printed mass media publications. Regar ding religious activities, the Federal Public Administration Act empow er s t he Departmen t of the Inter ior “[t]o su pervis e com plia nce wit h the le ga l provis ion s on religiou s worsh ip and extern al m an ifestations, dictating whatever measures ar e needed.”103 No pu blic au th ority can attend a religiou s act of public wors hip in a n official capa city. In the case of diploma tic acts, said authorities shall limit themselves to complying with th e mission assign ed, in conformity wit h t he applicable provisions.104

101. See SECRETARÍA DE GOBERNACIÓN, REL IGI ÓN Y SOCIE DAD 82 (Dec. 1997) (Graph 9: Actos de Culto Publico con Caracter Extraordinario). 102. See “Ley Orgánica de la Administración Pública Federal [Federa l Pu blic Adm ini st ra tion Act],” art. 27, D.O., 29 de d iciembr e de 1976 (am end ed 1994 ). 103. Id. 104. See RAA art. 25, D.O., 15 de julio de 1992. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 457

Pr obably some of the most important and sensitive responsibilities the n ew Act exp ressly a ss ign s t o the Department of th e Int erior include: (1) to organize and keep upda ted “the registr y of religious associations,” (2) to organ ize and keep updated th e corresponding registry of “immovable assets which religious association s may possess or m an age under any legal title,” (3) to resolve “any controversies that may arise between religiou s a ss ocia tion s,” an d (4) to im pos e sanctions when the RAA provisions are infringed or violated.105 In order to comply with these statutorily imposed tasks, the Department of the Inter ior had to undertake an internal administrative restructuring wh ich result ed in the cr ea tion of: (1) an Undersecreta ry for Religious Affairs (Subsecretaría de Asuntos Religios os); (2) a Genera l Directora te of Religiou s Affairs (Dirección General de Asuntos Religios os);106 and (3) a Subdirectorate of Norms and Sanctions (S ubd irección de N orm as y S an cion es).107

E. Title V: Violations, Sanctions, and Religious Conflicts

According to data just released by t he Subdir ect orate of Norms an d Sa nctions, dur ing 1997 a total of nineteen alleged RAA violations were filed in 1993, fourteen in 1994, twelve in 1995, ten in 1996 and zero in 1997. Out of this total, t wenty-five files were completed and th irt y are still pending.108 This data, however, does not pr ovide details regarding the sp ecific types of RAA viola tion s. The new Act lis ts a number of sp ecific viola tion s w hich religious ministers may incur (infracciones). Viola tion s include: associating for polit ica l purpos es, condu ctin g proselyt izing or propaganda in favor of or against any political candidate, party or, political ass ociation, offending Mexico’s nat ional symbols, acquiring, pos sess in g, or managin g a religiou s a ss ocia tion ’s assets or righ ts w hich are not deemed as indispen sable for th eir object, including concessions of any kind, promotin g an y conduct contrary to the well-bein g or ph ysica l in tegr it y of

105. Id. art s. 26, 28-32. 106. See D.O., 23 de noviembre de 1992. 107. See ANDRADE, supra note 94, at 68-69. 108. See SUBDIRECTORATE OF NORMATIVITY AND SANCTIONS, DEP’T OF INTERIOR (Sept. 199 7) (da ta pr ovid ed pe rs onal ly t o au th or). D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

458 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [1998 individuals, exercisin g physical violence or moral pressure through aggr ession or threa ts for the a ccomp lishmen t of th eir religiou s objectives, represen tin g a n authorized r eligiou s association when official recognition is la cking, assigning a ny assets to a goal other t han the one predicated in the official opinion , transfor min g a religiou s a ct in to a polit ica l assem bly, opposing th e laws of the country, and conducting or a llowing acts which threa ten the in tegr it y, s afegu ard, and p reser va tion of assets which constitute the Nation’s cultural patrimony.109 The RAA establishes an administrative procedure that must be followed wh en viola tion s of t he Act are committed. The im pos it ion of sanction s depends u pon several factors including: the nature and seriousness of the fault or violat ion, the alt era tion of public tra nquilit y an d pu blic order , th e economic situa tion and level of education of th e violator, and recidivism, if any. The explicit enunciation of these factors heightens the expectation th at a cer ta in sta ndar d of legalit y, objectivity, a nd fairness, rather than the a bsolu te a nd u nlim it ed discr et ion of the Depa rt men t of the Inter ior, is to govern the a pp lica tion of sanctions suited to individual cases. The RAA design ates sever al differ en t sa nction s w hich may be app lied t o viola tors.110 San ctions ra nge from a simple warn ing, fin e, or tem por ary or definite closure of th e locale designated for public worsh ip, t o the t em por ary susp en sion of the righ ts of a religiou s a ss ocia tion wit hin the n ation al territory or in a give n st ate, m unicip alit y, or loca lit y a nd t he ca ncellation of the r eligiou s a ss ocia tion ’s recogn it ion .111 Fin es may be quit e substan tia l. Pursuant to the RAA, a fine may go up t o 20,00 0 days of th e genera l minimu m sala ry in th e Federal District (Mexico City). As of the writ ing of this Article, that sa la ry wa s est ablish ed to be abou t four U.S. dollars (at the current rate of eight pesos per one U.S. dollar). Thus, th e maximum fin e a uthorized by t he RAA may be the equ iva len t of $80,000 U.S. dollars! Until the RAA’s regulations a re enacted, as duly published in the Diario Oficial, religious associations may rightly be

109. See RAA art. 29, D.O., 15 de julio de 1992. 110. See id. art . 32. 111. See id. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 459 concerned that the application of sanctions will only be subject to the exer cise of a bsolu te a nd u nlim it ed discr et ion traditionally exe rcised by t he Departmen t of the Inter ior . Nothing could more decisively convey t he idea that Mexico is a country of law and order, as President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León stated, than to fully demonstrate th at th e letter an d spirit of th e law, as published in the Diario Oficial, is going to preva il above the exercise of any absolute discr et ion , privilege, or discriminatory treatment. As recognized by President Zedillo in his Na tional Plan of Development, 1995-2000: Today, our regulatory a nd in st itu tion al fra m ew ork is n ot

wh olly suited to the expectations a nd cir cum st an ces of ou r time. Ba ckw ar dn ess, vice s a nd s hort com ings con tin ue t o exist in the areas of public safety, administration of justice, comb at ing corruption and impunity, legal secur ity an d recogn ition of con st itu tion al r igh ts , es pe cia lly [w h en th ese violations] injure the most vulnerable social groups. Thus, many members of our national community share legitimate doubts and concerns associated with the establishment and enforcemen t of a State of Law, and for the equality before the law and public institutions.112

An important advancement in the RAA is the in clusion of a motion for administrative appeal (recu rso de revisión ) in favor of individuals or religious associations whose int erest s have been adversely a ffected by an officia l det er min ation or resolution.113 This motion is to be submitted to the Department of th e Inter ior or to the authority that dictated the act or resolution being ch allen ged , within twenty days of the date of its formal notification (i.e. personal service). The authority in question sh all s en d t o the Departmen t of the Inter ior , with in a period not longer than ten working days, th e appeal motion and the documents which are offered as evidence by the respondent and wh ich may be in pos sess ion of the a uthorit y. Only t hose individua ls th at ha ve a lega l interest are a llowed to file th is administrative appea l motion. The procedure is regulated by

112. “Decreto por el que se Aprueba el Plan Nacional de Desarrollo, 1995-2000,” D.O., 31 de mayo de 1995. 113. See RAA arts. 33-35, D.O., 15 de julio de 1992. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

460 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [1998 the same Act and, when n ecessa ry, by the F eder al Code of Civil Procedure (Cód igo Federal d e Proced im ien tos Civ iles).114 Since the Department of the Interior, and not an admin istra tive tribunal per se, is the authority empowered to render a final decision on these administr ative appeals, it m ay be anticipated that the individuals affected by these decisions, especially if they a re for eigner s, are likely to have s er iou s reservations about the objectivity, legality, and fairness of these appellate decisions. It would be legally healthier if these decisions could be r en dered not by t he Departmen t of the Inter ior but by an independent tribun al or adjudicatory body. Perhaps th e idea of havin g a special tribunal to adjudicate religiou s matters would be more in symmetry with Mexico’s proven preference for highly specialized tribunals.115

1. Religiou s con flicts For decades, Mexico has been the arena of violent host ilities caused by religious motives. When one considers that historically Mexico has been and continues to be a predomin an tly Rom an Ca tholic cou ntry, it is not difficu lt t o visualize the intolerant and violent reactions directed against non-Catholic religious minister s when they ven ture in to Mexico for the purpose of proselytizing. In general, these activities have gr adu ally in crea sed over the la st decades. Religiou s ministers tend to be foreigners (mostly United States citizens) and Protestants, who focus their proselytizing in small rural areas, sh owin g specia l preferen ce t o in doct rin ate in digen ous peoples. Wherea s the reactions of Catholic Mexicans against the presence and activities of religious ministers of a different denominat ion do not cause major problems in large urban centers such as Mexico City, Monterrey an d Gu adala jara, t he presence of non-Catholic ministers in rural and remote areas has gener ally led not only to intolerance and open

114. See id. art s. 34-36. 115. In additi on t o th e fed er al an d s ta te jud icia l sy st em s, in r ecen t y ea rs Mex ico has wit ne sse d t he em er gen ce of a n um ber of spe cial ized cour ts or t ribu na ls, m ost of them ass ociated with th e execu tive p ower, s uch as t ax cour ts, agr arian courts a nd, most recently, electoral courts. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 461 discrimination, but also to systematic harassment, confrontations, and violence. Sometimes the situa tion becomes quite tense and difficult to handle because most of the people who live in these villages ar e Cath olic, including their public authorities, who resent the presence of non-Catholic ministers among them, especially when these ministers ar e engaged in public acts of r eligiou s indoct rination. As a consequence, disput es tend to arise and lead to serious confrontations and violent attacks. Catholic priests play a leading role in Mexican villages, particularly when these villages are located in remote areas and especially when these sm all towns a re formed by in digen ous peoples. Accordingly, it is not unusu al t o see the development of a special rapport between these priests and the loca l authorities, who happen to be Catholic. Sometimes th is informal associat ion results in the form at ion of a de facto joint front to opp ose an unin vit ed and u nwelcom e r eligiou s penetration. The rejection of these un wan ted religious visit ors becomes aggravated when the visitors happen to be non- Mexica ns who may be easily depict ed as intruders w ho are seeding social unrest, t hus con sp ir in g a ga in st the n ation al interests of Mexico. Unfortun at ely, ma ny of these foreign religiou s min ister s enter Mexico a s t ourists. Un der Mexica n law, the immigration status of a t ourist does not per mit condu ctin g r eligiou s a ctivities and r esult s in a clea r viola tion of Mexico’s immigration law.116 In these cases, by simply invokin g Article 33 of the F eder al Con st it ution , t hese for eigners can be summ ar ily expelled from Mexico with out a h earin g.117 This situa tion is exacerba ted in those villages where groups of Mexican s, over a period of time, have converted to Protestantism or other religious creeds. Located in remote rural

116. See Vargas, supra note 80, at 75. 117. Article 33 of the Federal Constitution provides: Foreigners are th ose who do not possess t he qu alifications set forth in Article 30. They a re en titled to t he const itutional rights grant ed by Chapter I, Title I, of th e pre sent Cons titut ion; but th e Fed era l Execut ive sha ll have the exclusive power to expel from the nationa l territory, immediately and without any prior trial, any foreigner whose presen ce is considered inconvenient. Foreigners m ay not become involved, in any manner whatsoever, in the polit ical affairs of the coun tr y. MEX. CONST. art . 33. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

462 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [1998 settings, th ese Mexicans become the target of intolerance, discrimination, and are quite often violently dispossessed of th eir small agricultural parcels. In extreme cases, the price for embracing a non-Catholic, foreign religion in Mexico is death. Numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were the first to attract international attention to these violent confrontations and arbitrary la nd s eizures wh ich have occurred over the last decades. Since its relatively recent establishm ent, Mexico’s National Commission of Human Rights (Com isión Nacional de Derechos Humanos) has started to include in its annual report a special section devot ed to addressing these chronic a nd increa singly viole nt religiou s con flict s. 118 A recent article summarized this problem by stating: The eviction of families, arrests, interrogations, and even

armed confrontations are evidence of increasing religious intolerance in Mexico, the nation with the highest number of Catholics in Latin America. There are pr oblems of intolerance in 19 of the nation’s 31 states, especially against the Protesta nt groups, so much so that today the National Evangelical Human Rights Com m ission said the government must intervene and create interreligious councils. The Interior Ministry was forced to recognize th e existe nce of several religious “hot spots” where intolerance and fanaticism have led to police and social action aimed at guar ant eeing the right of religious free choice.119

This demonstrates the im por tance of t he specific fu nction imposed upon the Secretar y of the Interior by th e RAA to resolve any controversies that may a rise bet ween religiou s associations.120 In add it ion , t he Secr et ary of the Interior and the Secretary of the National Defense (Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional) are empowered to detect and solve any conflicts that may cause socia l u nrest or en da nger Mexico’s nation al securit y.121

118. See COMISION NACIONAL DE DERECHOS HUMANOS, INFORME ANU AL (199 4). 119. Diego Cevallos , Mexico: Intolerance, The Price of a Change of Fait h, INT’L PRESS SERV., July 22, 1996. 120. See RAA, art. 28, D.O., 15 de julio de 1992. 121. See “Ley Orgánica de la Administración Pú blica Fed era l [Feder al P ublic D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 463

The RAA, for the fir st tim e in the h istory of the Mexica n legislature, establishes a special administrative procedure to be followed by the Department of the Int erior in r esolving contr oversies between religious associations. This procedure has two parts: an initial conciliation phase followed by for mal arbitration if the conciliation fails.122 According to the in forma tion recently released by the Subdirectorate of Norms and Sanctions (Septem ber 199 7), the number of complain ts filed with the Departmen t of the Inter ior as “religiou s con flict s” in clu de: nin et y-five in 1993; thir ty-fou r in 1994; twelve in 1995; thirty-six in 1996 and t en in 1997, for a total of 187. In each of these respective years, these cases were concluded as follows: ninety-four, th irt y, nin e, th irt y-five, and eight, for a total of 176 clos ed cases for the five-year period. There are cu rren tly eleven cases still pending for this five-year period.123

V. CONCLUSION

The legal r egime used in Mexico to govern its public rela tion s with t he Church was seeded with resentment, suspicion, and vindictiveness from its inception. It should not be unexpected, therefore, that the relations between th ese two powers, one worldly an d the other spir itu al, wer e difficult and bumpy during most of this century. Rather than structuring a legal framework based upon an en lighten ed policy of rationality, transparency, and practical realities, these rela tion s were constructed and painfully maintained on a subjective in ter pr et ation of historic even ts w hich the twentieth century has turned obsolete. The policy was public, but ar tificial and qu it e distant from the in ter ests of t he Mexican people. It was a lega l regime divorced from r eality. For 140 years Mexico maintained a regime which was strongly anticlerical. Based upon t he Reformation Acts enacted by Pr esident J uá rez in th e lat e 1850s an d 1860s, the basic

Adm ini st ra tion Act],” arts. 27-28, at 8, 11, D.O., 29 de diciembre de 1976 (amended 199 4). 122. This un iqu e a dm ini st ra tiv e m ech an ism for solving dis pu te s be tw een re ligiou s associations offers an int rigu ing possibilit y for an a na lytical r esea rch s tu dy. 123. See SUBDIRECCIÓN DE ARBI TRAJ E Y RECURSOS, SECRETARÍA DE GOBERNACIÓN, QUEJAS POR CONFLICTOS RELIGIOSOS (Se pt . 29 , 19 97) (Dirección de Normatividad). D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

464 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [1998 philosophical tenets of these legislative enactments had a strong punitive flavor. They were drafted with the deliberate purpose of castigating and humiliating the Catholic Church for its arroga nce in challengin g t he m ater ia l power of the republican government of President Juárez. This policy was developed in a time when the Mexican clergy and a conser vat ive elite dreamed of establishing a European monarchy in that country. Although the 1916-1917 Constitutional Congress of Querétaro had the opportunity to correct, or at least ameliorate, this policy of extreme separation between church and st ate, by formulating a m ore rat ional and less vindictive legal framework, that opportun ity was lost. As a result, the Federal Con st it ution of 1917 strongly embraced the philosophical tenets advanced by Ju árez. This regime was in place until 1992. Pursuant to this regime, religious associations were given no legal capacity and wer e th us ackn owledged by Mexican la w only as de facto institu tions. Religious associations could n ot own or possess any assets, including real estate. This prohibit ion also extended to religious minister s, who were forbidden from en gaging in political activities. Religious associations were also excluded from pa rt icipating in th e education of Mexicans and prohibited from condu ctin g r eligiou s rites out side their tem ples. Th e severit y of this regime was completed by the mandate that all acts pertaining to the civil status of individuals were to be condu cted by public officials, th us depr iving the Ca th olic Church of a pra ctice th at star ted in Colonial times. Looking back at this history, it becomes evident how difficult it must have been for religiou s a ss ocia tion s in Mexico, especially the Catholic Church, t o live , oper ate, a nd s urvive for decades subject to a framework that was clearly designed to resemble a legal straight-jacket. Understanding this helps explain the reiterated protests the Holy See advanced at different tim es regar ding this regime. It was against t his historical, legal, a nd p olit ica l ba ckgr ound t hat Mexico a dop ted a new policy in 1992. The extraordinary changes adopt ed to amend th e Feder al Constitu tion of Mexico, and thus change the old legal regime, tur ned the juridical compass 180 degrees. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 465

Three major rationales led to this dramatic change: first, the process of “modernization” that characterized the admin istra tion of Pr esident Salina s. This process revolutionized the economy, t he polit ica l a ren a, t he con duct of foreign affairs, the advancement of science and technology, the legal syst em, and naturally, the social and cultural makeup of the Mexican people . Faced wit h the con tem por ary rea lit ies of a nation at th e th reshold of a new millenn ium , it became vit al t o update th e decrepit legal r egime gover nin g t he r ela tion s between church and state. Second, the political realization that a “modern legal regime” was needed to condu ct the r ela tion s bet ween church and state along more open, fresh, and transparent avenues. This placed the Church in an enhanced position and opened more harmonious lines of communication with the Holy See and other religious creeds, and at the same time sent a clear message to the Mexican people. Third, the ability to produce a new legal r egime which is able to govern the r ela tion s between the Mexican governmen t and r eligiou s a ss ocia tion s based u pon more enlightened policies and preserving, at the same time, certain legal prin ciples which ar e per ceived as inaliena ble in the Mexica n legal tradition. Th ese principles are: (1) a bsolute respect for the freedom of belief, (2) s over eignty of the Mexican State, (3) clea r demarcation between civil a nd eccles ia st ica l questions, (4) legal equality of all churches and religious ass ocia tion s, and (5) pu blic secula r education . In gener al, the Act of Religiou s Associat ions and Pu blic Worship of 1992 is decidedly a progressive development in this field. It s p ractica l a nd fa ir im plem en tation will h elp detect imperfections, find omissions, and clarify am biguities. A tech nica l an d specialized adjudicatory body will only serve to elevate the objectivity and fairness of th is Act. Equ ally important is the urgent need to have clear and precise regu la tion s that will assist in inter preting the Act in a fair manner, thus bridling the discretion in the hands of public authorities. Hopefully, federal courts will have a decisive and in crea sing r ole in the defense and s tren gt hen in g of the fr eedom of religion in Mexico in the years to come. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

466 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [1998

APPE NDIX ONE ACT OF RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS AND PUBLIC WORSH IP1

(Diario Oficial d e la Fed eración , July 15, 1992)

ARTICLE 1 The presen t statute, based upon the h istoric prin ciple of the sepa ra tion of State and churches, as well as on the freedom of religiou s beliefs, regu la tes the provis ion s of the Polit ica l Con st it ution of the U nit ed Mexica n St ates on matter s of associations, religious groups, churches and public worship. Its provisions are of public order and gen er al obs er va nce throughout the national territory. Religiou s convict ion s in no case exe mpt one from complia nce with the laws of the countr y. No one may allege r eligiou s motives to evade the responsibilities and obligations prescribed by the laws. ARTICLE 2 The Mexican State guarantees in favor of the individua l these rights and freedoms on religious matters: a) To have or adopt th e religious belief of his/her own preferen ce an d to pra ctice, in an individual or collective manner, th e acts of worship or rites of his/her preference. b) Not to pr ofess a ny r eligiou s beliefs, a bstain from practicing religious acts or rites, and not to belon g t o a religiou s association. c) Ne it her be the object of discr im in ation , coercion or host ility beca use of his/h er religious beliefs, n or to belon g t o an a religious association. No religiou s motives may be alleged to impede anyone in the exercise of any job or activity by reason of his/her religious beliefs, nor to be obligat ed to declare on sa id beliefs. d) Ne it her to be obliga ted to pr ovid e per son al ser vices, nor to contribut e in m oney or in kind to support a n a ssociat ion, church or any other religious group, nor to participate or

1. Tr an sla tion was d one by P rofessor J orge A. Varga s, Universit y of San Diego Sch ool of Law , 599 8 Alca lá P ar k, S an Dieg o, CA 921 10-24 92, T el.: (619) 260-4816, Fa x: (619) 538-0855. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 467 contribute in the same manner in rites, ceremonies, festivities or acts of religious worsh ip. e) Not be t he obje ct of an y judicial or administrative inqu iry because of th e expression of re ligious ideas; a nd f) To peacefully a ssociat e or assemble for religious purposes. ARTICLE 3 The Mexican State is secular. The State shall exercise its authority over any r eligiou s manifes tation , in divid ual or collective, only insofar as it affects the observance of the laws, the maintenance of the public and moral order an d the tu telage of the rights of third parties. The State cannot establish any type of preference or privilege in favor of any religion, neither in favor or against any church or religious group. The officia l id en tifica tion docu men ts s hall n ot contain any men tion of the r eligious beliefs of [any] individual. ARTICLE 4 Acts perta ining to the civil st atus of in dividuals are of t he exclusive jurisdiction of the authorities in the terms provided by th e laws, a nd shall h ave th e force an d validity mandated by said laws. The simple oath to tell th e tr ut h a nd to comply with certa in obliga tion s obligates the individua l who makes them , subjecting such in divid ual t o the sanction s est ablish ed by t he la w in case of viola tion s. ARTICLE 5 Legal acts that contraven e t he provis ion s of t his Act shall be null and void. ARTICLE 6 Churches an d religious groups shall have lega l persona lity as religiou s a ss ocia tions once th ey ha ve obtained th eir corresponding official registry (Regis tro constitutivo) from the Secretary of the Inter ior (Secretaría de Gobernación), in the terms provided by this Act. The religious a ssociations sh all be governed inter nally by th eir own regulations (Estatutos). These regulations shall contain the fundamental bases of the doctrine an d body of religiou s beliefs and sha ll name their representatives and, when appr opriate, those internal ent ities and divisions belonging to them. Th ese entit ies and d ivisions m ay cor respon d to regional demarcations or to other forms of autonomous orga niza tion within the associa tion s, as it may be suitable to D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

468 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [1998 th eir structure an d goals, an d may equa lly enjoy havin g legal person alit y in the t er ms of t his Act. Religious associations are equa l before the la w in t heir rights and obligations. ARTICLE 7 The app lica nts for the official r egist ry of a religiou s ass ocia tion sh all p rove t hat the ch urch or religiou s a ss ocia tion : I. Has principally devoted itself to the observance, practice, propagation or instruction of a religiou s d octrin e or of a body of religious beliefs; II. Ha s undert aken r eligious activities in t he Republic of Mexico for a minimu m of five years and enjoys pu blic recogn it ion am ong th e populat ion besides having established its dom icile in the Republic; II I. Con tribu tes su fficient ass et s t o comply with it s object ; IV. Has t he r egu la tion s r eferred to in Article 6, s econ d paragraph, of this Act; and V. Has complied, when required, with what is provided in pa ragr aph s I and I I of Ar ticle 27 of the F eder al Con st it ution . A su mmary of the r egist ry a pp lica tion shall be published in the Diario Oficial d e la Fed eración (Officia l Ga zet te). ARTICLE 8 Religious a ssociat ions sha ll: I. Be always subject to the Federal Constitution and to the laws which ema na te from it, and respect the institutions of the country; II. Abstain from pursuing lucrative or main ly economic goals. ARTICLE 9 Religiou s associations shall have the righ t, as provided by this Act and its Regu la tion s, to: I. Be iden tified by m ea ns of a n exclusive d en omin ation ; II. Freely organize within their internal structures and adopt the regulations or norms that govern their system of authorit y a nd op er ation , in clu ding t he for mation and designation of ministers; III. Conduct religious a cts of public worship, an d to propagate their doctrine, provided that norms and provisions of this Act and other applicable statutes are not contravened; D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 469

IV. Condu ct all kinds of legal acts for the accomplishment of th eir object, pr ovided t hey ar e lawful and do not pursue lucrative goals; V. Pa rt icipate directly, or in association with individuals and compa nies , in the est ablish men t, a dm in istration , supp ort and operation of institutions of privat e assist ance [Charitable institutions], schools and hea lth organiza tions, provided no lucrative goals are in volve d a nd t hat the provis ion s of t his Act an d oth er a pplicable stat ut es are complied with; VI. Us e in an exclusive m anner , for religious purposes, assets belon ging to the Na tion, in t he term s dictat ed by t he respective Regula tions; a nd VII. Enjoy the other rights granted by this Act and other statutes. ARTICLE 10 Any acts within the matters regulated by this Act which may be condu cted in a habitua l man ner by an individual, or by churches and r eligiou s a ss ocia tion s, wit hout having the official registry (Regis tro constitutivo) referred to in Article 6, shall be attributed to the in divid uals or legal entities, as may be the case, all of which shall be subject to the obligations established by this Act. Said chu rches or groups sha ll not ha ve th e right s enumerated in paragraphs IV, V, VI and VII of Article 9 of this Act, a nd ot her app lica ble pr ovis ion s. Labor relat ions bet ween th e religious associat ions and th eir workers shall be subject to wha t is provided for by t he app lica ble la bor legisla tion . ARTICLE 11 With respect to the official registra tion refer red to by this Act, “Associated” [members] of a religious association are the adult individuals who have been a ppointed as such in accordance with the corresponding regulations. The represent at ives of the religious associations shall be Mexica n [nationals] over 18 years of age, who must have been recognized with such a chara cter by th e corresponding authorities. ARTICLE 12 With respect to this Act, “Ministers of a cult” are considered to be any adult individuals to whom the religious associations to which th ey belong have conferred such t itle upon them. Religiou s ass ocia tion s s hall r eport their correspon ding decision D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

470 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [1998 to the Secretary of the Int erior. In the case said associations omit th is report , or in r elation with churches or religious groups, “Ministers of a cult” ar e deem ed to be those individua ls who perform as their pr in cipal occu pa tion the fu nction s of direction, representation or managemen t. ARTICLE 13 Mexica ns ma y exercise t he m inistr y of any cult. F oreigners may equally do it provided they prove their lawful entry and stay in the country and that their legal immigration status does not int erfer e with the conduct of religious activities, as provided by t he Gen er al P opu la tion Act (Ley Gen eral d e Población). ARTICLE 14 Mexica n citizen s wh o exercise th e ministr y of any cult h ave the right t o vote in th e term s pr ovided by the a pplicable ele ctoral legislation. They cannot be elected for any elect oral posts, nor can they occupy any important public pos it ion s (Cargos públicos superiores) unless they are separated from th eir m inistr y in a forma l, material an definite manner at least five years prior to the day of the election in question in the first case or three years prior to the formal acceptance in the latter case. Six m onths w ill su ffice r ega rding a ny ot her pos it ion s. Neither can religious minister s associate themselves for polit ica l purposes, nor conduct any proselytizin g in favor of or aga in st any polit ica l ca ndida te, p arty or ass ocia tion . Any sepa ra tion of religious minister s sh all be communicated by th e religious association or by the separ ated ministers themselves to the Secretary of the Interior within th e following thirty days of their separation . In resignat ion cases, t he min ister ma y prove it by produ cing the document which attests that it was received by a legal r epr esen ta tive of the respective religious association. For purposes of this art icle, t he separation or resign ation of a minister shall take effect from the date it is reported to the Secret ary of the Inter ior . ARTICLE 15 Religiou s min isters, their ascendants, descendants, brothers, spouses, as well a s t he r eligiou s associations to which they belong, shall be incapable of inheriting by testament from those individuals whom said minist ers have guided or assisted spir itu ally and do not have any parentage within the fourth D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 471 degree, in the t er ms p rovid ed by Ar ticle 1 325 of t he Civil Cod e for the Federal District in Ordinary Matters and for the entire Republic on Federal Matters (Código Civil para el Distrito Federal en Materia Común y para toda la República en Materia Fed eral). ARTICLE 16 Religiou s associations esta blished in conformity wit h t his Act ma y have a pat rim ony allowing th em t o comply with th eir object. Said pa tr imony, formed by all the assets which they may acquire, possess or ma na ge under a ny [legal] title sha ll exclusively be wh at is in disp en sa ble to comply with the goa l or goa ls pr opos ed in it s object . Religiou s associations and the ministers of a cult cannot possess or manage directly or through a third party any concessions for the exploit ation of radio, television or any other type of tele communica tion, nor acquire, possess or manage any mass media companies. Printed materials of a religious nature are exclu ded fr om this pr ohibition . Religiou s associations in liquidation ma y tr an sfer t heir ass et s, through any m ea ns, to other religiou s a ss ocia tion s. In the case the liqu idation takes place a s a consequ en ce of the imposition of any of the sanctions established by Article 32 of this Act, t he a ss et s of t he r eligiou s a ss ocia tion s t o be liquidated shall be t ra nsferred to public assist an ce inst itu tion s [Charitable orga niz at ion s]. The nat ional assets tha t m ay be in the possession of religious associat ions sha ll rever t t o the full pu blic dom in ion of the N ation . ARTICLE 17 The Secret ary of the Inter ior sh all iss ue a n opinion (Resolverá) regar ding the indispensable character of the imm ovable assets that religious associat ions inten d to acquir e under any [lega l] t it le. To t hat effect, the Secretary shall issue a favorable opinion (Declaratoria de procedencia) in the following cases: I. In the case of any immovable asset; II. In any case of inheritance, when a religious associa tion becomes an heir or legatee; III. When it is int ended tha t a religious association is to become a tr ust beneficiary, except when the association is the only trustor; and D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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IV. When the transaction involves immovable assets over which charit able orga niza tion s (Instituciones de aistencia privada), hea lt h or education al in st it ution s m ay t he owner s or trust beneficiaries, a nd r eligiou s a ss ocia tion s, eit her direct ly or in association with other individuals, may have been involved in their establishment, management or operation. The applications seeking an opinion must be answered by the authority in no more than forty five days; if there is no answer, the application is deemed approved (Ap roba ción ficta). Regar ding the case referred to in th e precedin g paragraph, at the request of the interested party, the Secretary must issue a cer tifica tion (Expedir certificación) that the requisite period of time has elapsed. Religiou s associations must register all immovable assets [they own or possess] with the Secretary of the Interior, wit hout prejudice of complying with a ny other obligations on these matters, as mandated by other statutes. ARTICLE 18 Authorities and officials endowed wit h n otaria l powers (e.g.: public notaries and public broker s) int ervenin g in any legal acts whereby a religious association intends to acquire the ownership of an im mova ble ass et , m ust request from the association the document which contain s t he fa vor able opinion (Declaratoria de procedencia) issued by the Secretary of the Inter ior or, when appropria te, t he certification ment ioned in the preceding paragraph. Any officials endowed with notarial powers that inter vene in the a bove men tion ed acts m ust give notice to the corresponding Pu blic Regist ry of Pr operty (Regis tro Pú blico d e la Propiedad) that the immovable in question is to be destined to the goals of the association, so the Registry may insert the corresponding notation. ARTICLE 19 Individuals and legal entities, including their assets, governed by this Act, sha ll be subject to the ta x provisions in the t er ms p rovid ed by t he a pp lica ble legisla tion . ARTICLE 20 Religiou s associations sha ll name a nd register with th e Secretary of Social Development (Secretaría de Desarrollo Social) and th e National Council for the Culture and the Arts D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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(Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes) the representatives responsible for the temples and of those assets that constitute arqueological, artistic or historic monuments owned by th e Na tion. Said association shall be obligat ed to preser ve in their [ph ysica l] in tegr it y said ass et s a nd t o take care of their safeguard and rest oration, in the terms provided by the laws. The ass et s owned by t he N ation that may be possessed by religiou s associations, including the specific use given to them, shall be su bje ct to this Act, t he Gen er al Act of National Assets (Ley General de Bienes Nacionales) and, when appropriate, to the Federa l Act on Arqueological, Artistic and Historic Monuments and Zones (Ley Federal sobre Monum entos y Z onas Arqueológicos, Artísticos e Históricos), an d any oth er a pplicable statutes and regulations. ARTICLE 21 Religiou s acts of public worship sh all or dinarily take pla ce at the tem ples. On ly on ext raordinary occasions m ay said acts be conducted outside t he temples, in the terms provided by th is Act and the other applicable statutes. Religiou s associations m ay only t ra nsmit or dissemin at e acts of religious worship through the non-print ed mass media in extra ordinary circumst ances, once the corresponding authorization from the Secretary of the Interior has been granted. In no case Ma ya religiou s a ct be br oadcast through ra dio and television during the [air] time allocated to the State. In the cases ment ioned above, the organizers, sponsors, concessionaires or owners of mass media companies shall be jointly liable with the r eligiou s a ss ocia tion in qu estion for complying with th e specific provisions govern ing acts of public worship of an extr aordinary nat ure. No gath erings of a political nature may take place in any temples. ARTICLE 22 To condu ct religiou s a cts of p ublic wor sh ip outside temples on extraordinary occasions, the organizers shall give notice in advance to the competent federal, Federal District, State or municipal authorities, at least fifteen days prior to the date they are in ten ding t o condu ct them . Th e n otice m ust in dicate the pla ce, d ate, h our, a nd r ea son for the in ten ded a ct. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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The authorities may prohibit the conduct of the intended act [although they must advan ce in wr itin g] the legal bases and the rationale of their decision. [This prohibition may only proceed when it is based on] securit y r ea son s a nd t he protect ion of public hea lt h, [public] moralit y, [public] peace and public order, as well as the protection of the right s of third parties. ARTICLE 23 The notice referred to in t he preceding art icle sha ll not be required regarding: I. The affluence of groups goin g t owa rds the loca tion s ordinar ily dest ined to the cult; II. The transit of people between domiciles of individuals wit h the purpos e of celebrating religiou s com mem orations; a nd III. The acts to be conducted in closed locales or in t hose to which the people have no free access. ARTICLE 24 Anyon e who opens a temple or a locale destined to public worsh ip sh all give n otice t o the Secr et ary of the Inter ior within no more than thirty working days from the date of opening. The observance of this rule d oes not give exe mpt ion from the obliga tion to comply with the applicable provisions in other matters. ARTICLE 25 The application of this Act corresponds to the Federal Execu tive Power through the Secr et ary of the Inter ior . The State and municipal authorities, as well as t hose of th e Federal District, will assist t he Federation in the terms pr ovid ed by t his Act. The above ment ioned a ut horities cannot at ten d in an official capacity any r eligiou s a ct of pu blic wor sh ip, n or any activity having similar purposes. In th e case of diplomat ic practice, [said au th orities] shall limit t hem selves to complying with the mission ass ign ed, a s p rovid ed by t he a pp lica ble pr ovis ion s. ARTICLE 26 The Secretary of the Interior shall organize and keep upda ted the r egist ries of religiou s a ss ocia tion s a nd t he imm ovable assets which the associations may possess or manage under any title. ARTICLE 27 D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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The Secretar y of the In ter ior may en ter in to cooperative or coordinating agreem ents with the State authorities in matters regarding this Act. The St ate a nd m unicip al a uthorit ies sh all r eceive notices on the condu ct of religiou s acts of public wor sh ip of an extraordinary character in the t er ms p rovid ed by t his Act and its Regulations. They must also report to the Secr et ary of the Inter ior on the exercise of their powers in accordance with this Act, its Regu la tion s and, when a ppr opriate, t he corr esponding agreement. ARTICLE 28 The Secretar y of the Interior is empowered to resolve any controversies that may arise between religious associations, according to the following procedure: I. Th e r eligiou s association deemed to be a ffected in its legal int erests sh all subm it a complaint before the Secretary of the Interior; II. Th e Secr et ary shall r eceive the complaint and summon the other religiou s a ss ocia tion to answer th e complaint with in ten working days followin g t he date of notification, a sking it to appear at a conciliation meetin g which shall take place with in thirty days following the date when the complaint was submitted; III. At th e conciliation meeting, the Secret ar y shall invite the parties to reach a conciliatory solution to the contr oversy and, if this is not possible, to name a legal ar biter (Arbitro d e estricto d erech o); and IV. If the parties choose to arbitrate, the procedure previously described to the parties should be followed; otherwise, the rights of the parties shall be preserved to be exercised before t he compet ent cour ts, as provided by Article 104, para gra ph I, Section A, of the P olit ical Con st it ution of th e United Mexican States. The procedure st ipulat ed by this a rticle is not a procedural requirement (Requisito de procedibilidad) [that the parties must comply with in order] to app ea r at the com peten t court. ARTICLE 29 The followin g a re viola tion s (Infracciones) of this Act, incurr ed by the parties referred to in this st atute: D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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I. To a ss ocia te for a polit ica l purpos e and to conduct pr oselyt izin g or pr opa ganda of an y type in favor of or aga in st any ca ndida te, p arty or polit ica l a ss ocia tion ; II. To offend (Agraviar) the n ation al sym bols or to in du ce their rejection in an y man ner; III. To a cqu ir e, p oss ess or manage r eligiou s a ss ocia tion s, directly or th rough a thir d p arty, a ss et s or righ ts w hich are not exclusively those deemed indispensa ble for their object, including concessions of any k ind; IV. To promote any conduct contrar y to th e well-being or the ph ysica l in tegr it y of individuals; V. To exercise ph ysical violen ce or moral pressur e thr ough aggression or threats for the accomplishment or realization of their objectives; VI. To r epresen t it self a s bein g a religiou s a ss ociation when it has not been recognized as s uch by t he Secr et ary of the Interior; VII. To d esign ate a ny a ss et s t hat religiou s associations may have acquired under any title to a goal different than the one pr edica ted in the cor respon ding officia l opin ion (Declaratoria de procedencia); VIII. To clearly deviate from the associations’ predicated goals to such an extent that the associations’ religiou s nature is lost or seriously jeopardized; IX. To convert a religiou s a ct in an ass em bly into one of a political nature; X. To oppose the laws of the countr y or the count ry’s institutions at public assemblies; XI. To conduct acts or allow acts which threaten the int egrity, safegu ard a nd p reser va tion of the a ss et s w hich constitute the country’s cultural patrimony, assets which are being used by ch urches, gr oups or religiou s associations, and to omit action s necessary for said assets to attain to be preserved in their integrity and value; and XII. Any ot her establish ed by t his Act or in other a pplicable regulations. ARTICLE 30 The application of the san ctions established by th is Act shall be subject to the following procedure: D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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I. The sanctioning body sha ll be a Commission composed by officials of the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to its Regula tion s and its r esolu tion s s hall be t aken by a majorit y of votes; II. The authority shall notify the int erested party of the facts considered to be in violation of this Act, wa rn ing it to appear before th e Commission with in fifteen days following th e date of summons in order to advance argumen ts and offer evidence; a nd III. Once the term mentioned in the preceding paragraph has lapsed, whether the inter ested party had appeared or not, th e Commission shall dictate t he corr esponding resolut ion. If the party made an appearance, the arguments advanced and the evidence su bm it ted sh ould be analyzed in the r esolu tion . ARTICLE 31 Viola tion s of this Act shall be san ctioned ta king into consideration the following elements: I. Th e n ature a nd s er iou sn ess of t he fa ult or viola tion ; II. The possible altera tion of the social tra nquilit y an d pu blic order trigger ed by t he viola tion ; III. The economic situation and the level of instruction of the violator; IV. Recidivism , if any. ARTICLE 32 To the violators of this Act one or several of the following sanctions may be im pos ed, depen ding u pon the eva lu ation made by th e au th ority rega rding the element s enun ciated in the preceding ar ticle: I. Warn ing; II. Fine up to twenty t housand days of the gener al m inim um sa la ry in the F eder al Dist rict ; III. Tempor ary or defin it e clos ure of t he loca le destined for public worship; IV. Tem por ary su sp en sion of the rights of the religious association within the national territory or in a given Sta te, municipalit y or localit y; and V. Ca ncellation of the r eligiou s a ssociation’s registry (Registro de asociación religiosa). The im pos it ion of these sanction s cor respon ds to the Secretary of the Int erior, in th e terms provided by Article 30. D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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When th e sanction imposed consists in the definite closure of a loca le ow ned by the Nation which has been destined to ordinary worship, the Secretary of Socia l De velopm en t, once the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior ha s been consulted, shall determine the use of the imm ovable asset in the terms provided by the applicable law. ARTICLE 33 Against the determinations or resolutions dictated by the authorities in complian ce with th is Act, a motion of admin istra tive appeal (Recur so d e revisión ) may be filed, wh ich will d ecid ed by t he Secr et ary of the Inter ior . This motion sh all be subm it ted to the Secr etary or to the authority that dictated the act or resolution being challenged, with in twenty wor kin g days followin g t he date when the a ct or resolution was rendered. In the lat ter case, the authority shall send to the Secretary of the Interior, within a period not longer than ten working days, the appeal motion and the documents which are offered as evid en ce by t he r espon dent and which may be in possession of the au th ority. Only th ose individua ls tha t h ave a legal inter est ma y file the a dm in istrative app ea l m otion pr ovid ed for in this Act. ARTICLE 34 The authority shall examine th e admin istra tive a ppea l and it sha ll dism iss it when filed extempora neously. If th e motion is obscur e or ir regula r, t he authority shall request th e respondent to clar ify the motion with in t en days following th e date when it wa s ser ved, with a war nin g that if the respondent does not comply with t he r equisite per iod of time, the motion shall not stand. The resolution rendered in an administrative appeal may revok e, m odify or confir m the ch allenged act or resolu tion . ARTICLE 35 The motion admitting the administrative appeal shall grant the su sp en sion of the effect s of the challenged act, provided the respondent ha s requested it and the nature of the acts allows it, except when t he gr an tin g of th e sus pens ion p roduces a n inju ry to th e social in terest, contr avenes provis ion s of p ublic order or leaves the appea l without [legal] substance. When th e suspen sion m ay cau se da ma ges and injuries to third parties, the respondent should give a warranty for the D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 479 reparation of the damages and the indemnifica tion of th e injuries caused, should the r espondent n ot receive a favorable resolution. ARTICLE 36 For the effects of this Title, in th e absence of an explicit provision and in matters which do not contra vene this Act, th e provisions of the F eder al Cod e of Civil Procedure (Código Federal de Procedimientos Civiles) shall a pply. TRAN SI TO RY ARTICLE 1 This Act shall enter into force t he day a fter it s p ublication in the Diario Oficial d e la Fed eración . TRAN SI TO RY ARTICLE 2 The Regulatory Act of Article 130 of the Federal Constitution (Ley Reglamentaria del Artículo 130 de la Con stitución Federal), published in the D.O. of January 18, 1927; the Act that Regulates th e Seven th Pa ra gra ph of Article 130 of the Constitution (Ley que Reglamenta el Séptimo Párrafo del Artículo 130 Constitucional), regarding the number of priests that may exer cise t heir min istry in the District and Federal Territories, published in the D.O. of December 30, 1931; Act that amends the Penal Code for the District and Federal Territ ories rega rding Or dinary Cr im es and for the Entire Repu blic on Cr im es aga in st the F eder ation (Ley que Reforma el Código Penal pa ra el Distrito y T erritorios Fed erales sobre Delitos del Fuero Común y para Toda la República sobre Delitos contra la Federación), published in the D.O. of Ju ly 2, 1926; as well as the Decree that Establishes a Period of Time with in which Applications to be in Cha rge of Temples No Longer Destined to Public Worship may be Submitted (Decreto que Establece el Plazo dentro del cual Puedan Presentarse Solicitudes pa ra Encargarse de los Tem plos que se R etiren del Culto), published in the D.O. of December 31, 1931, ar e repealed. TRAN SI TO RY ARTICLE 3 The pr ovisions of t he N ationaliza tion of Assets Act (Ley de Nacionalización de Bienes), regulatory of Paragraph II of Article 27 of the Federa l Const itu tion, published in th e D.O. of December 31 of 1940, as well as those contained in other st atutes, a re r epea led wh en their pr ovis ion s op pos e t his Act. TRAN SI TO RY ARTICLE 4 D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

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Any su it s a nd n ation alization proceedings wh ich are pending at the time of th e enter ing into force of this Act, shall be continued in accorda nce wit h the a pp lica ble pr ovis ion s of the Nationalization of Assets Act, regulatory of Paragraph II of Article 27 of the Federal Constitut ion, published in t he D.O. of December 31, 1940. TRAN SI TO RY ARTICLE 5 Until th eir im migr at ion stat us is reviewed, foreigners who have lawfully entered into the countr y when t his Act becomes effective, may act as ministers of a cult, provided the ch urches and other religiou s a ss ocia tion s a cknowle dge t hat pos it ion when they file their registr ation application before the Secretary of the Interior or wh en th e int erest ed m inisters give notice to tha t circumstan ce to sa id Secret ar y. TRAN SI TO RY ARTICLE 6 Immovable assets owned by the N at ion which ar e curren tly ut ilized for religious purposes other religiou s associations, sh all continue to be destined to the same goals, provided that the above mentioned churches and associations request an d obta in in a period no longer th an one year, reckoned from t he ent erin g into force of this Act, th eir corr esponding registr y as religiou s associations. TRAN SI TO RY ARTICLE 7 With the registration app lica tion , ch urches and r eligiou s association s shall submit a declaration of immovable assets they inten d t o acqu ir e t o form their pa trim ony a s r eligiou s associations. The Secretary of the Int erior, in a period not longer th an six months from the date of t he official r egist ration of a religiou s association, shall issue a gener al favorable declara tion (Declaratoria general de procedencia), provided the requirements established by t he Act are com plied w it h. An y imm ovable asset that religious associations intend to acquire after their officia l r egist ration (Registro constitutivo), shall requir e the fa vor able decla ration (Declaración de procedencia) establish ed by Ar ticle 17 of this Act. Mexico, D.F., J uly 13, 1992 (Sign atures). In compliance with Paragraph I of Article 89 of the P olit ica l Con st it ution of the United Mexican States and for its due publication and compliance, I issue the present Decree in the D:\ 199 8-2\ FI NAL \ VAR-F IN .WP D Ja n. 8, 2001

421] RELIGION AND PUBLIC WORSH IP IN MEXICO 481 residency of the F eder al E xecu tive Power, in the Cit y of Mexico, Federal Dis trict , on the fourteenth da y of the m onth of J uly of [the year] one thousand nine hundred and ninety two. Carlos Salinas de Gortari (Signature). The Secretary of the Interior, Fer nando Gutiér rez Barrios (S ign ature).