Mendoza Constitutionalism and the Margin of Local Appreciation One Hundred and Ten Years After the 1916 Constitution

Abstract

The constitutional process in Mendoza is imbued with diverse nuances. It reveals a dynamic relationship between a pragmatic political composition open to innovation, a social leadership rooted in a geographical and economic environment that places significant demands on institutions, and a robust practical instrumentalism, all of which shape its particular scope of local interpretation. Its original character is evident from its very beginnings, when in 1854 it became the first province to submit its constitution for review by Congress, and again at the beginning of the 20th century when it incorporated social rights, regulated guarantees of personal liberty, and established a progressive penitentiary policy for its time. The current text, with some amendments, dates from 1916 and, at one hundred and ten years old, offers an extraordinary example of positive interaction between a political culture, the institutional practices through which it is expressed, and the forms and procedures that guide and regulate it.