Emergencies with emergency provisions: the performance of the 1857 Constitution

Abstract

In this paper I explore the performance of the 1857 constitution, which included, for the first time in Mexican history, broad emergency powers. I claim that the way these provisions were designed facilitated abuse. Emergency powers became the means to make up for a structurally weak executive. I will argue that the institutional framework of emergency provisions was conducing to this end. Emergency powers became one of the most contentious issues in the second half of the nineteenth century. The frequent use of these provisions by the government called into question the liberal nature of the regime.