December 1, 1916 · Querétaro, Central Mexico Theater
December 1, 1916
Carranza convened a constitutional convention in Querétaro to replace the 1857 constitution and provide his regime with legal legitimacy. He expected a moderate document ratifying his presidency and the Constitutionalist program. Instead, radical delegates — many of them young officers and labor activists radicalized by years of revolutionary war — wrested control of key committees and inserted far more radical provisions than Carranza had intended. Article 27 placed all subsoil resources (oil, minerals) under national ownership and enabled land reform. Article 123 established labor rights unprecedented in the Americas. Article 130 sharply restricted the Catholic Church. The constitution was signed on February 5, 1917.
Commanders