Congress of Nuevo León

Honorable Congress of the State of Nuevo León

Honorable Congreso del Estado de Nuevo León
Honorable Congress of the State of Nuevo León ; Honorable Congreso del Estado de Nuevo León
LXXVII legislature
Type
Type	Unicameral
Term limits	4 consecutive terms
History
Founded	1 August 1824
New session started	1 September 2024
Leadership
President	Lorena de la Garza, PRI
First Vice President	Grecia Benavides Flores, MORENA
Second Vice President	Claudia Mayela Chapa Marmolejot, PVEM
Structure
Seats	42
Political groups	PAN (10); PRI (10); MC (10); MORENA (9); PVEM (1); PT (1); PRD (1);
Length of term	3 years
Elections
Voting system	Parallel voting; 26 seats elected by first-past-the-post; 16 seats elected by proportional representation
Last election	2 June 2024
Next election	2027
Meeting place
	Legislative Palace, Monterrey, Mexico
Website
	www.hcnl.gob.mx

The Honorable Congress of the State of Nuevo León (Spanish: Honorable Congreso del Estado de Nuevo León) is the unicameral legislature of the government of the Mexican state of Nuevo León. Each three-year legislative term consists of 42 deputies, with 26 elected through relative majority and 16 through proportional representation.

The current legislative term, known as the LXXVII Legislature, started in 2024 and concludes in 2027 following the local elections.

History

On May 7, 1824, the Constituent Congress of Mexico officially recognized Nuevo León as a state, ordering the state to hold elections to select deputies that would serve both the Congress and Constituent Congress of Nuevo León. On July 9, 1824, 11 deputies were elected. The first legislative session started on August 1, 1824, with the goal of drafting the state's constitution, which was approved on March 5, 1825.^[1]

In March 1835, amid escalating tensions between centralists and federalists, the Federal Congress adopted a centralist constitution, which dissolved the state congresses, including the Congress of Nuevo León, replacing them with departmental boards.^[1] On November 23, 1846, a decree reinstated sovereignty to Nuevo León in accordance with the provisions outlined in the 1824 Mexican Constitution and the 1825 Nuevo León State Constitution, which led to the formal reestablishment of the Congress of Nuevo León on January 3, 1848.^[1]^[2]

In 1917, Nuevo León adopted a new state constitution establishing a two-year term for deputies, prohibiting re-election, and requiring the election of 15 deputies through first-past-the-post voting. In 1942, an amendment extended the term to three years. In 1977, reforms introduced proportional representation, facilitating the inclusion of smaller parties. The first opposition party deputy, from the National Action Party, was elected in 1979 under this new system.^[2] Prior to this, the Institutional Revolutionary Party was the only party in the legislature. In 2014, an amendment permitted the re-election of deputies for a maximum of four consecutive terms.

From 1901 until 1985, the congress convened in a designated room within the Government Palace. In May 1985, the legislative body relocated to the Legislative Palace, which presently serves as its official meeting venue.^[1]

Membership

Eligibility requirements

Article 71 of the Nuevo León Constitution establishes eligibility criteria for deputies. Each deputy must meet the following requirements:^[3]^[4]

Be a Mexican citizen by birth, exercising civil and political rights.
Have reached the age of twenty-one on election day.
Be a resident of the state for at least five consecutive years immediately preceding the election, or six months for those born in the state.
Not be a religious minister.
Not be the head of any department or head of any decentralized entity in the state.
Not be a sitting governor.
Not be a sitting judge.
Not be working in any election commission.
Not be a federal legislator.
Not be a municipal president.
Not be in the military or a head of public security forces for six months prior to the election.

Article 71 also notes that public servants mentioned in the eligibility criteria, with the exception of the state governor and members of any election commission, may be elected as deputies if they take a leave from the office they represent at least one day before their campaign starts.

Terms

Article 68 states that a deputy serves for three-year terms, which corresponds with one legislative term, known as a Legislature. A term starts on September 1 of the election year.^[4]

Elections

Article 69 outlines that the congress must consist of 26 deputies elected through first-past-the-post voting, with each deputy representing one single-member district, and an additional 16 deputies through proportional representation. For this process, political parties present lists of candidates at the state level, and the number of seats a party receives is proportional to the overall votes it receives statewide.^[4]

Article 72 allows deputies to be re-elected for up to four consecutive terms.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "H. Congreso del Estado de N.L. | Historia del Congreso del Estado de Nuevo León". H. Congreso del Estado de N.L. (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-02.
^ ^a ^b Adame Goddard, Jorge Carlos; Álvarez González, Rosa María; Barroso Figueroa, José Carlos; Cervera Rivero, Oscar (2013). Introducción al derecho parlamentario estatal. Estudios sobre los congresos de los estados y la Asamblea Legislativa del Distrito Federal. Segunda parte. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. ISBN 978-607-02-4564-0.
^ "H. Congreso del Estado de N.L. | Proceso de Elección de Diputados". H. Congreso del Estado de N.L. (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-02.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "CONSTITUCIÓN POLÍTICA DEL ESTADO LIBRE Y SOBERANO DE NUEVO LEÓN". H. Congreso del Estado de Nuevo León (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-03.