Chamber of Deputies Committee Approves Dual-Nationality Ban for President, Governors

The Chamber of Deputies' Constitutional Points Committee approved, 26 votes to 5, a constitutional reform proposed by President Claudia Sheinbaum that would bar dual nationals from holding the presidency, a state governorship, or the head of government of Mexico City. The reform amends Articles 82, 116 and 122 of the Constitution, requiring candidates who hold a second nationality to renounce it before registering. Morena, the Labor Party (PT) and the Green Party (PVEM) voted in favor; PRI, PAN and Movimiento Ciudadano voted against. The measure does not affect dual nationality for ordinary citizens, including the roughly 36 million Mexican-Americans and 11 million Mexican-born US residents. Sheinbaum has cited the case of former Tamaulipas governor Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca — a US-Mexico dual national wanted on organized crime and money-laundering charges — as the rationale for the bill; billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who disclosed holding a second nationality after the initiative was unveiled in late August, has called it an attempt to block a potential 2030 presidential run. The dictamen was sent to the full Chamber for a floor vote scheduled for September 22; as a constitutional amendment it will also need two-thirds approval in the Senate and ratification by a majority of the 32 state legislatures.