The Siete Leyes were a series of constitutional instruments that fundamentally altered the organizational structure of the young first Mexican republic. They were enacted under President Antonio López de Santa Anna

Antonio López de Santa Anna

Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón , often known as Santa Anna or López de Santa Anna, known as "the Napoleon of the West," was a Mexican political leader, general, and president who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government...

 on 15 December 1835 to centralize and strengthen the federal government at a time when the very independence of Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 was in question.

1. The 15 articles of the first law granted citizenship
   Citizenship
   Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
   
    to those who could read and had an annual income of 100 pesos
   Mexican peso
   The peso is the currency of Mexico. Modern peso and dollar currencies have a common origin in the 15th–19th century Spanish dollar, most continuing to use its sign, "$". The Mexican peso is the 12th most traded currency in the world, the third most traded in the Americas, and by far the most...
   
   , except for domestic worker
   Domestic worker
   A domestic worker is a man, woman or child who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping...
   
   s, who did not have the right to vote.
2. The second law allowed the President to close Congress
   Congress of Mexico
   The Congress of the Union is the legislative branch of the Mexican government...
   
    and suppress the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation
   Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation
   The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation is the highest federal court in the United Mexican States. It consists of a President of the Supreme Court and ten Ministers who are confirmed by the Senate from a list proposed by the President of the Republic.Justices of the SCJN serve for fifteen...
   
   . Military officers were not allowed to assume this office.
3. The 58 articles of the third law established a bicameral Congress of Deputies and Senators, elected by governmental organs. Deputies had four-year terms; Senators were elected for six years.
4. The 34 articles of the fourth law specified that the Supreme Court, the Senate of Mexico
   Senate of Mexico
   The Senate of the Republic, constitutionally Chamber of Senators of the Honorable Congress of the Union After a series of reforms during the 1990s, it is now made up of 128 senators:...
   
   , and the Meeting of Ministers each nominate three candidates, and the lower house of the legislature would select from those nine candidates the President and Vice-president,
5. The fifth law had an 11-member Supreme Court elected in the same manner as the President and Vice-President.
6. The 31 articles of the sixth Law replaced the federal republic's "states
   States of Mexico
   The United Mexican States is a federal republic formed by 32 federal entities .According to the Constitution of 1917, the states of the federation are free and sovereign. Each state has their own congress and constitution, while the Federal District has only limited autonomy with a local Congress...
   
   " with centralized "departments", fashioned after the French model, whose governors and legislators were designated by the President.
7. The seventh law prohibited reverting to the pre-reform laws for six years.

External links

• Country Studies article