Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has submitted a constitutional reform proposal that would require candidates for the presidency, state governorships and the leadership of Mexico City to renounce any other nationality before seeking office.
The proposal, sent to Congress on Thursday, is intended to ensure that holders of Mexico’s most senior elected executive positions possess Mexican nationality exclusively while in office.
Sheinbaum said the existing Constitution was unclear on the issue, noting that individuals holding dual nationality had previously served as state governors.
Under the proposed amendment to Article 82, presidential candidates would have to be Mexican citizens by birth, have a Mexican mother or father and hold no other nationality. Dual nationals seeking the presidency would be required to formally renounce their second nationality before registering as candidates.
The proposal would retain a requirement that presidential candidates have resided in Mexico for at least 20 years.
Similar restrictions would be introduced for candidates seeking election as state governors or as head of the Mexico City government through proposed changes to Articles 116 and 122.
The opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) has rejected the proposal, describing it as discriminatory and arguing that it would undermine political rights and democratic participation.
The party said possessing another nationality did not indicate divided loyalty and insisted that dual-national Mexican citizens were “as Mexican as everyone else.” PRI lawmakers have pledged to vote against the amendment.
Mexico has recognised dual nationality for citizens by birth since constitutional reforms introduced in 1997, allowing Mexicans who acquire another citizenship to retain their Mexican nationality.
Congress is expected to begin considering the proposed constitutional changes from September 1. As a constitutional amendment, the measure would have to clear the required legislative approval process before it could take effect.