Notes on Mexican Legal Culture
| Published date | 01 December 1995 |
| DOI | 10.1177/096466399500400403 |
| Date | 01 December 1995 |
| Author | Sergio López-Ayllón |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
NOTES
ON
MEXICAN
LEGAL
CULTURE
SERGIO
LÓPEZ-AYLLÓN
National
University
of Mexio
T
IS
difficult
to
talk
about
legal
culture
in
Mexico
for
various
reasons:
first,
because
the
concept
of
’legal
culture’
is
rather
vague
and
applies
to
a
variety
of
phenomena
(Rebuffa
and
Blankenburg,
1993);
second,
because
legal
culture
is
a
difficult
field
to
research
as
scarce
basic
information
or
studies
exist.
As
Professor
Friedman
puts
it:
’statements
about
legal
culture
rest
on
shaky
evidence
at
best’
(Friedman,
1975: 204).
This
is
particularly
true
in
Mexico
where
law
professionals
have
generally
remained
within
the
boundaries
of
doctrinaire
jurisprudence,
while
outside
scholars
rarely
even
tackle
law
issues.
Other
difficulties
may
arise.
Culture,
be
it
legal
or
not,
is
always
dynamic;
a
synthesis
of
history,
it
is
a
present
that
contains
the
future.
Mexican
legal
culture
cannot
be
explained
without
looking
into
history.
As
Octavio
Paz
said
’the
Mexican
is
not
an
essence
but
a
history’
(1985: 215).
For
this
reason,
I
constantly
have
to
make
time
ellipses
in
this
paper
to
avoid
a
merely
historical
account.
Finally,
one
can
scarcely
affirm
that
the
territory
now
known
as
Mexico
encompasses
only
one
culture.
From
the
outset,
we
must
recognize
a
variety
of
’legal
cultures’
determined
by
the
social
groups,
regions
and
social
stratification.
Thus,
the
legal
culture
of
major
cities
like
Mexico
or
Monterrey
differs
from
that
of
a
rural
area
in
Chiapas.
Further
distinctions
can
be
made
within
the
latter.
The
culture
of breeders
and
landowners
differs
from
that
of
Tzotzil
or
Lacandon
groups.
Few
countries
in
the
world
contain
such
cultural
diversity.
My
aim
is
not
to
take part
in
the
debate
on
the
concept
of
legal
culture
or
discuss
the
different
ways
of
approaching
it;
I
simply
use
a
very
broad
definition
of
legal
culture
as
the
’public
knowledge
of
and
attitudes
and
behavior
patterns
SOCIAL
&
LEGAL
STUDIES
(SAGE,
London,
Thousand
Oaks,
CA
and
New
Delhi),
Vol.
4
(1995),
477-492
477-
478
towards
the
legal
system’
(Friedman,
1975:193),
and
thus
will
not
take
into
account
the
’internal
legal
culture’
(p.
223)
of
the
legal
profession.
To
outline
the
Mexican
legal
culture,
I
contrast
it
with
other
cultures
and
also
use
nonlegal
criteria
found
in
practice
and in
literature.’
Reference
to
history
was
frequently
necessary.2
2
My
account
attempts
to
cast
some
light
on
certain
elements
that,
despite
being
chosen
arbitrarily,
appear
to
be
essential
to
Mexican
legal
culture;
to
explain
how
these
elements
determine
the
way
legal
culture
relates
first
to
Law
and
then
to
the
State;
and,
finally,
to
show
how
these
elements
evolved
under
the
process
of
globalization.
I
was
undoubtedly
led
to
make
generalizations,
inevitable
in
such
a
brief
exploratory
account.
THE
CHILDREN
OF
THE
CONQUISTADOR
Every
society
finds
the
roots
of
its
identity
in
its
founding
myths
(Eliade,
1957,
1963).
This
’founding’
establishes
the
social
space
where
history
takes
place.
Mexico,
being
no
exception
to
this,
is
nevertheless
different
from
other ’foundings’
(e.g.
Rome
or
the
United
States)
in
that
it
is
based
on
a
rupture
of
extreme
violence;
the
Spanish
conquest
of
the
sixteenth
century
(Thomas, 1993).
The
conquest,
a
brutal
yet
fertile
encounter
of
the
Spanish
and
indigenous
cultures,
founds
Mexican
society
as
a
mestizo
country,
resulting
from
the
mixture
between
the
conquistadores
and
the
native
Americans.
This
mixture
of
races,
extraordinarily
complex,
deeply
marks
the
Mexican
cultural
substratum.
Though
the
process
of
conquest
and
colonization
destroyed
the
ancient
cultures,
it
did
not
involve
the
extermination
of
the
indigenous
populations.
An
observer
of
the
Mexican
people
is
bound
to
notice
that,
beneath
its
occidental
ways,
pre-Hispanic
beliefs
and
habits
persist
(Paz,
1985: 89;
Bonfil,
1990).
What
features
does
this
mixture
convey
to
legal
culture?
The
first,
and
probably
the
most
determinant,
is
the
lack
of
a
founding
consensus
(Ricoeur,
1991: 38
ff).
The
conquest,
despite
the
efforts
of
the
critical
minds
of the
time
and
that
all
the
acts
of
the
conquistadores
were
supported
on
law,
remains
based
on
force.
The
’Request
of
Palacios
Rubio’,
a
text
read
in
the
name
of
the
king
to
the
native
Americans
upon
their
first
contacts,
explained
to
them
the
authority
of
the
pope
and
the
nature
of
the
power
he
vested
upon
the
Catholic
kings.
It
’informed’
them
of
the
numerous
privileges
they
would
receive
by
converting
to
Christianity,
and
of
the
consequences
they
would
face
if
they
refused:
I
shall
make
war
against
you
in
every
place
and
way
I
can,
and
I
shall
subdue
you
to
the
yoke
and
obedience
of
the
Church
and
its
Highnesses,
and
I
shall
take
your
persons
and
your
women
and
your
sons
and
I
shall
make
them
slaves,
and
as
such
I
shall
sell
them
and
dispose
of
them
as
his
Highness
orders,
and
I
shall
take
your
possessions,
and
I
shall
subject
you
to
all
the
harm
and
damage
I
can,
as
to
vassals
who
do
not
obey
or
want
to
welcome
their
lord
and
who
resist
and
contradict
him....
(Gonzilez,
1981:29)
~
,_
z
The
second
cultural
feature
is
what
I
call
’the
export
pattern’.
Since
the
social
structures
encountered
by
the
Spaniards
seemed
so
alien
to
them,
they
’practically
eliminated
what
they
found
and
established
their
own
way
of
life
in
the
most
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