The Secretariat of the Interior (; SEGOB) is the executive department of the Mexican government concerned with the country's domestic affairs, the presenting of the president's bills to Congress, their publication in the Official Journal of the Federation, and certain issues of national security. The country's principal intelligence agency, CNI, is directly answerable to the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary is a member of the president's Cabinet and is, given the constitutional implications of the post, the most important cabinet member. Additionally, in case of both temporary and absolute absences of the president, the Secretary of the Interior assumes the president's executive powers provisionally. The Office is practically equivalent to Ministries of the Interior in most other countries (with the exception of the United States) and is occasionally translated to English as Ministry, Secretariat or Department of the Interior.
History In 1821, after the establishment of what was then the Provisional Cabinet (Junta Gubernativa Provisional), and given public urgings to organise the country's government, regulation was produced outlining the functions of a new governmental arm, then styled the "Office for Domestic and Foreign Affairs". The new agency was answerable for managing the functioning of the government in general. The first person to take up the Directorship of the Office was José Manuel de Herrera who held the post between 1821 and 1823. Later on, it became necessary to particularise the duties of certain government agencies, which, in 1843, lead to the creation of the 'Office for Home Affairs' (also styled 'Department of the Interior'), which would later be re-styled as the 'Office for Foreign Relations and Government' in 1841 and then again in 1843 as the 'Office for Home Affairs and Policing'. The Office eventually had some of its powers separated into other ministries and, in 1853, was once again named 'Office for Home Affairs' —as it is still called up to the present day.
The Secretariat of the Interior in its modern day form is concerned principally with the good management and proper application of the policies of the Federal Government within its national borders.
It is a department of the national executive branch, whose origins date back to article 222 of the 1812 Spanish Constitution, which received royal assent on 19 March 1812. Among the Cabinet Secretaries mentioned in the constitution were those of "Governance of the Realm in the Peninsula and Adjacent Islands" and "Governance of the Realm Overseas". On 22 October 1814, the "Constitutional Declaration for the Emancipation of Mexican America", known as the Constitution of Apatzingán, made provisions for a republican form of government by way of Article 134. The Apatzingán Constitution provided for an Executive Branch known as the Supreme Government which would be equipped with an Department for Home Affairs, among other governmental departments.
Political significance This position was historically seen as being a heartbeat away from the presidency, because several Secretaries of the Interior were chosen as presidential candidates for the following term by incumbent presidents Plutarco Elías Calles, Emilio Portes Gil, Lázaro Cárdenas, Miguel Alemán Valdés, Adolfo Ruiz Cortines, Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Luis Echeverría. Francisco Labastida, Secretary of the Interior during the latter part of the Zedillo government, was seen as Zedillo's personal favorite during the Institutional Revolutionary Party's primaries (the first the party would ever hold) and during his unsuccessful bid which saw his political undoing at the hands of PAN candidate Vicente Fox. In turn, Fox's Secretary of the Interior, Santiago Creel, ran in the National Action Party's primaries in 2006, but was defeated by Felipe Calderón.
Functions According to Article 27 of the Organic Law of the Federal Public Administration the department is responsible for the following functions and duties: To present before the Congress of the Union the initiatives of law or decree of the Executive To publish the laws and decrees of the Congress of the Union, one of the two Chambers or the Standing Commission and the regulations issued by the President of the Republic, as well as the resolutions and provisions that by law must be published in the Official Journal of the Federation Manage and publish the Official Journal of the Federation Managing the National Personal Identification Service To deal with the administrative procedure for the expulsion of foreigners from the national territory To administer the islands of federal jurisdiction, except those whose administration corresponds, by provision of the law, to another dependence or entity of the federal public administration Conduct the internal policy that is the responsibility of the Executive and not explicitly attributed to another dependency To monitor the compliance of constitutional precepts by the authorities of the country, especially with regard to individual guarantees and to issue the necessary administrative measures for that purpose Conduct, as long as this power is not conferred on another Secretariat, the relations of the Executive Power with the other Powers of the Union, with the autonomous constitutional organs, with the governments of the federative entities, the municipalities and with the other federal and local authorities, As well as render the official information of the Federal Executive To conduct, within the scope of its competence, the political relations of the Executive Power with national political parties and groups, with social organizations, with religious associations and other social institutions Foster political development, contribute to the strengthening of democratic institutions; Promote active citizen participation and favor conditions that allow the construction of political agreements and social consensus so that, in terms of the Constitution and laws, the conditions of democratic governance Monitor compliance with constitutional and legal provisions in matters of public worship, churches, religious groups and associations To administer the General Archive of the Nation, as well as to monitor the fulfillment of the legal dispositions in matter of information of public interest To monitor, through the General Directorate of Radio, Television and Cinematography, that printed publications and radio and television transmissions, as well as cinematographic films, remain within the limits of respect for privacy, peace and Public morality and personal dignity, and do not attack the rights of third parties, nor cause the commission of any crime or disturb public order To regulate, authorize and supervise the game, the bets, the lotteries and raffles, in the terms of the relative laws Conduct and implement, in coordination with the authorities of the state governments, of Mexico City, with the municipal governments, and with the dependencies and entities of the Federal Public Administration, the policies and programs of civil protection of the Executive, Within the framework of the National System of Civil Protection, for the prevention, assistance, recovery and support of the population in disaster situations and to agree with institutions and organizations of the private and social sectors, actions leading to the same objective Establish and operate a research and information system, which contributes to preserving the integrity, stability and permanence of the Mexican State To contribute in what corresponds to the Executive of the Union, to give sustenance to the national unity, to preserve the social cohesion and to strengthen the institutions of government Compile and systematize the laws, international treaties, regulations, decrees, agreements and federal, state and municipal regulations, as well as establish the corresponding database, in order to provide information through electronic data systems
List of secretaries President Antonio López de Santa Anna11th Administration 1853–1853: Manuel Díez de Bonilla 1853–1855: Ignacio Aguilar President Martín Carrera 1855: José Guadalupe Martínez President Rómulo Díaz de la Vega12th Administration 1855: José Guadalupe Martínez President Juan Nepomuceno Álvarez 1855: José Guadalupe Martínez 1855: Francisco de P. Cendejas President Ignacio Comonfort 1855: Francisco de P. Cendejas 1855–1857: José María Lafragua 1857: Ignacio de la Llave 1857: Jesús Terán Peredo 1857: Francisco del P. Cendejas 1857: José María Cortés y Esparza 1857: Benito Juárez García 1857–1858: José María Cortés y Esparza President Félix María Zuloaga 1858: Hilario Elguero 1858–1859: Juan Manuel Fernández de Jáuregui President Manuel Robles Pezuela 1859: Juan Manuel Fernández de Jáuregui President José Mariano Salas 1859: Juan Manuel Fernández de Jáuregui President Miguel Miramón 1859: Ignacio Anievas 1859: Teófilo Marín 1859: Antonio Corona 1860: José Ignacio de Anievas 1860: Isidro Díaz President José Ignacio Pavón 1859) : José Ignacio Anievas Emperor Maximilian I 1864: José María González de la VegaMinister of the Mexican Empire 1864–1865: José María Cortés Esparza 1865–1866: José María Esteva 1866–1867: José Salazar Ilarregui 1867: Teófilo Marín 1867: José María Iribarren President Benito Juárez 1858–1858: Manuel Ruiz 1858–1858: Melchor Ocampo 1858–1858: Santos Degollado Sánchez 1858–1858: Ignacio de la Llave 1858–1859: Melchor Ocampo 1859–1860: Ignacio de la Llave 1860–1861: Manuel Ruiz 1861–1861: José Manuel de Emparan 1861–1861: Ignacio de la Llave 1861–1861: Pedro Ogazón 1861–1861: Francisco Zarco 1861–1861: León Guzmán 1861–1861: Manuel María de Zamacona 1861–1861: Juan José de la Garza 1861–1862: Manuel Doblado 1862–1862: Jesús Terán 1862–1862: Manuel Doblado 1862–1863: Juan Antonio de la Fuente 1863–1863: Manuel Doblado 1863–1863: Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada 1867–1868: Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada 1868–1868: Ignacio L. Vallarta 1868–1869: José María Iglesias 1869–1871: Manuel Saavedra 1871–1872: José María Castillo Velasco 1872–1872: Cayetano Gómez y Pérez President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada 1876–1876: Cayetano Gómez Pérez 1876–1876: Juan José Baz President Porfirio Díaz 1876–1877: Protasio Tagle 1877–1879: Trinidad Garcia Brito 1879–1880: Eduardo Pankhurst 1880–1880: Felipe Berriozábal President Manuel González 1880–1884: Carlos Díez Gutiérrez President Porfirio Díaz 1884–1895: Manuel Romero Rubio 1895–1903: Manuel González Cosío 1903–1911: Ramón Corral President Francisco León de la Barra 1911–1911: Emilio Vázquez Gómez 1911–1911: Alberto García Granados President Francisco I. Madero 1911–1912: Abraham González 1912–1912: Jesús Flores Magón 1912–1913: Rafael Lorenzo Hernández President Pedro Lascuráin 1913–1913: Victoriano Huerta President Victoriano Huerta 1913–1913: Alberto García Granados 1913–1913: Aureliano Urrutia 1913–1913: Manuel Garza Aldape 1913–1914: Ignacio Alcocer President Francisco Carvajal 1914–1914: José María Luján President Venustiano Carranza 1914–1914: Eliseo Arredondo 1914–1915: Rafael Zubarán Capmany 1915–1915: Jesús Acuña 1915–1915: Adolfo de la Huerta 1917–1917: Jesús Acuña President Adolfo de la Huerta 1920–1920: Gilberto Valenzuela 1920–1920: José Inociencio Lugo President Álvaro Obregón 1920–1923: Plutarco Elías Calles 1923–1923: Gilberto Valenzuela 1923–1924: Enrique Colunga 1924–1924: Romeo Ortega President Plutarco Elías Calles 1924–1925: Romeo Ortega 1925: Gilberto Valenzuela 1925–1928: Adalberto Tejeda 1928: Gonzalo Vázquez Vela 1928: Emilio Portes Gil President Emilio Portes Gil 1928–1930: Felipe Canales President Pascual Ortiz Rubio 1930: Emilio Portes Gil 1930–1931: Carlos Riva Palacio 1931: Octavio Mendoza González 1931: Lázaro Cárdenas del Río 1931–1932: Manuel C. Téllez 1932–1934: Juan José Ríos President Abelardo L. Rodríguez 1932–1934: Eduardo Vasconcelos 1934: Narciso Bassols 1934: Juan D. Cabral President Lázaro Cárdenas del Río