The Making of Law : The Supreme Court and Labor Legislation in Mexico, 1875–1931

Despite Porfirio Díaz's authoritarian rule (1877-1911) and the fifteen years of violent conflict typifying much of Mexican politics after 1917, law and judicial decision-making were important for the country's political and economic organization. Influenced by French theories of jurisprudence in addition to domestic events, progressive Mexican legal thinkers concluded that the liberal view of law—as existing primarily to guarantee the rights of individuals and of private property—was inadequate for solving the "social question"; the aim of the legal regime should instead be one of harmoniously regulating relations between interdependent groups of social actors. This book argues that the federal judiciary's adjudication of labor disputes and its elaboration of new legal principles played a significant part in the evolution of Mexican labor law and the nation's political and social compact. Indeed, this conclusion might seem paradoxical in a country with a civil law tradition, weak judiciary, authoritarian government, and endemic corruption. Suarez-Potts shows how and why judge-made law mattered, and why contemporaries paid close attention to the rulings of Supreme Court justices in labor cases as the nation's system of industrial relations was established. "Despite Porfirio Diaz's authoritarian rule (1877-1911) and the years of violent conflict typifying much of Mexican politics after 1910, law and judicial decision-making were important for the country's political and economic organization. Influenced by French theories of jurisprudence in addition to domestic events, progressive Mexican legal thinkers concluded that the liberal view of the law--existing primarily to guarantee the rights of individuals and of private property--was inadequate for solving the 'social question'; the aim of the legal regime should instead be one of harmoniously regulating relations between interdependent groups of social actors. This book argues that the federal judiciary's adjudication of labor disputes and its elaboration of new legal principles played a significant part in the evolution of Mexican labor law and the nation's political and social compact. Indeed, this conclusion might seem paradoxical in a country with a civil law tradition, a weak judiciary, an authoritarian government, and endemic corruption. Suarez-Potts, however, shows how and why judge-made law mattered, and why contemporaries paid close attention to the rulings of Supreme Court justices in labor cases as the nation's system of industrial relations was established"--Provided by publisher Despite Porfirio Díaz's authoritarian rule (1877-1911) and the fifteen years of violent conflict typifying much of Mexican politics after 1917, law and judicial decision-making were important for the country's political and economic organization. Influenced by French theories of jurisprudence in addition to domestic events, progressive Mexican legal thinkers concluded that the liberal view of law—as existing primarily to guarantee the rights of individuals and of private property—was inadequate for solving the “social question”; the aim of the legal regime should instead be one of harmoniously regulating relations between interdependent groups of social actors. This book argues that the federal judiciary's adjudication of labor disputes and its elaboration of new legal principles played a significant part in the evolution of Mexico's labor law and the nation's political and social compact. Indeed, this conclusion might seem paradoxical in a country with a civil law tradition, weak judiciary, authoritarian government, and endemic corruption. The book shows how and why judge-made law mattered, and why contemporaries paid close attention to the rulings of Supreme Court justices in labor cases as the nation's system of industrial relations was established This study argues that the federal judiciary's adjudication of labour disputes and its elaboration of new legal principles played a significant part in the evolution of Mexico's labour law and the nation's political and social compact. This conclusion might seem paradoxical in a country with a civil law tradition, weak judiciary, authoritarian government, and endemic corruption. The book shows how and why judge-made law mattered, and why contemporaries paid close attention to the rulings of Supreme Court justices in labour cases as the nation's system of industrial relations was established The rights of free labor, 1875-1910 Free labor and the federal judiciary, 1875-1910 Porfirian industrial relations and the rights of labor Toward social legislation Legislating labor law, 1911-1924 The Supreme Court and labor law, 1917-1924 Labor law and Supreme Court decisions, 1925-1931 The enactment of the Federal Labor Law, 1925-1931. This book is a history about the development of labor law in Mexico between 1875 and 1931.