Mexico Dual Nationality Ban for President and Governors Clears Lower House
Mexico · POLITICS
Updated 28 September 2026
Key Facts
- —What happened The lower house passed the reform on 22 September 2026, 344 votes to 116. Two Senate committees approved it 23 to 9 on 23 September. The American Society of Mexico has urged senators to reject it as discriminatory.
- —How big It amends constitutional articles 82, 116 and 122. Candidates for president, governor or Mexico City mayor must hold only Mexican nationality.
- —The catch Dual nationals may still run if they renounce the other nationality before registering. The rule starts with the 2028 electoral process.
- —What it means for you Nationality by birth abroad, naturalisation, residency and voting rights are unchanged. Only candidates for three executive offices are affected.
- —What comes next A Senate floor vote is expected on Tuesday 29 September. Then a majority of state legislatures must ratify it.
The reform has cleared the lower house and heads to a Senate vote. It targets only the presidency, governorships and Mexico City’s mayoralty.
Update, 27 September: the reform passed the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Congress, on 22 September. A Senate floor vote is expected on 29 September.
President Claudia Sheinbaum announced at her morning press conference on 25 August 2026 that her government is considering sending Congress a constitutional reform initiative to bar dual nationals from holding Mexico’s presidency and state governorships. ‘Why would you have dual nationality if you represent the people of Mexico? You are Mexican, period. Because if you have dual nationality, then who do you represent?’, she asked, framing the Mexico dual nationality proposal as a matter of loyalty to the nation.
Sheinbaum Announces Mexico Dual Nationality Reform
Speaking at her daily mañanera on Tuesday 25 August 2026, Sheinbaum said her government is ‘considering’ sending a constitutional reform initiative to Congress. The proposal would prevent dual nationals from serving as president or as state governors.
‘A Mexican president, or a Mexican female president, is Mexican and does not represent another country’, she said, repeating her central argument that national representatives should hold a single nationality.
The president made clear the immediate trigger for the Mexico dual nationality debate: Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca, the former governor of Tamaulipas, who holds both Mexican and US nationality and is living in the United States.
Mexico has requested his extradition from the United States, which has not granted it. Sheinbaum called him a fugitive from Mexican justice who committed several crimes, ‘according to the prosecutor’s office’.
What Changed by 27 September
Sheinbaum sent the initiative to Congress in late August. The lower house approved it on 22 September by 344 votes to 116 in the general vote. The articles then passed 334 to 109, with one abstention.
That is well above the two-thirds majority a constitutional change needs. Morena and its allies, the Green Party (PVEM) and the Labour Party (PT), voted in favour.
The opposition National Action Party (PAN), Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and Citizens’ Movement (MC) voted against. None of their proposed amendments passed.
Less than 24 hours later, two joint Senate committees approved the text. Senate president Higinio Martínez said the floor debate could come on Tuesday 29 September.
Larry Rubin, president of the American Society of Mexico, a business and civic group of US citizens in Mexico, urged all 128 senators on 27 September to reject the reform. He called it “unnecessary and deeply unjust” discrimination that would create “first- and second-class Mexicans”, adding that “dual nationality does not mean dual loyalty”.
The Senate’s constitutional and legislative-studies committees approved the text 23 to 9 on 23 September. The floor vote is scheduled for Tuesday, 29 September, where Morena and its allies need two-thirds of senators present.
What the Reform Actually Changes
The reform amends articles 82, 116 and 122 of the constitution. They set the requirements for president, state governors and the head of government of Mexico City.
Candidates must already be Mexican by birth. Now they also must not hold or acquire another nationality, and must renounce any other one before registering as candidates.
Once in office, they may not use a foreign passport, exercise political rights as a foreign citizen or seek another country’s diplomatic protection.
The rule applies from the 2028 electoral process onward. It does not affect anyone already serving as president, governor or Mexico City mayor.
The reform does not touch articles 30 and 32, which govern who is Mexican and how dual nationality works. Children born abroad to Mexican parents remain Mexican.
What It Means for Mexican-Americans and Foreigners
For most dual nationals nothing changes. They keep both passports, their property and their right to vote, as Morena senator Emmanuel Reyes Carmona stressed.
The restriction bites only for anyone who wants to run for one of three executive posts. Congress seats, mayoralties and other offices are not covered by this reform.
Opposition lawmakers call it a setback for migrants. A PAN deputy said it touches almost 70% of Hispanics of Mexican origin in the United States, a figure not independently verified.
For foreign residents, the reform changes nothing on visas, residency or naturalisation. Naturalised Mexicans were already barred from these offices, which require Mexican birth.
Sheinbaum defended the plan in Sonora on 26 September. “No president can have two flags or two peoples,” she said, denying it aims to strip anyone of rights.
How the Proposal Began
In August, Sheinbaum first said she was ‘considering’ the initiative. On the scope, she said state governors ‘should be the same’ as the presidency under the restriction.
Article 32 of Mexico’s constitution already allows the law to reserve certain public offices for Mexicans by birth and to regulate how dual nationals exercise their rights. Critics such as MC senator Luis Donaldo Colosio argue that article already makes the new rule redundant.
The timing of the announcement, at the start of a week dominated by trade talks, also gives the government a sovereignty message for domestic audiences while its economic team negotiates in Washington.
Ebrard in Washington Seeking Tariff Relief
The same morning, Sheinbaum addressed the parallel mission of Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, who arrived in Washington around 24 August and plans to stay ‘several days’.
Ebrard is seeking to avert new US tariffs and to reduce existing ones: 50% on steel, aluminum and derivatives, 25% on vehicles, and 10% on exports outside the USMCA framework.
The existing tariff schedule covers some of Mexico’s most important export lines, making the Washington mission one of the most consequential of Sheinbaum’s term so far.
Before traveling, Ebrard told El Financiero on 23 August that ‘we are close to substantive agreements’ with the US administration.
Sheinbaum struck a similar tone on Tuesday, saying she trusts the Washington talks can yield results this week, while acknowledging no agreement has been secured yet.
Trade Pressure Builds Across North America
Ebrard’s trip comes as the regional trade environment hardens. Canada broke off trade talks with the United States on Friday 21 August.
On Monday 24 August, President Donald Trump announced 50% tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, auto parts and steel, to take effect from January 2027.
Mexico is trying to avoid a similar escalation. The existing US tariff schedule already hits Mexican steel, aluminum, vehicles and non-USMCA exports.
Mexican officials read the Canadian rupture as both a warning and an opening: a bilateral understanding with Washington could leave Mexico better positioned than its northern USMCA partner.
The dual tracks of Sheinbaum’s Monday, a constitutional reform at home and tariff diplomacy abroad, reflect a government asserting sovereignty while protecting its export economy.
What Comes Next for Reform and Trade Talks
For the reform, the next step is the Senate floor vote expected on 29 September. It also needs two-thirds of senators present.
After that, most of Mexico’s 32 local legislatures, including Mexico City’s, must approve it before it can be published and take effect. Sheinbaum said she hopes it passes.
What it does not mean: no one loses Mexican nationality, and today’s dual nationals keep their rights. The García Cabeza de Vaca case will continue to serve as the government’s central argument that dual nationality creates conflicts of representation and accountability.
In Washington, Ebrard’s meetings over the coming days will show whether Mexico can convert proximity to ‘substantive agreements’ into signed tariff relief.
Both fronts converge on the same argument Sheinbaum has made throughout her government: that Mexico’s interests are best defended by strengthening national institutions at home and stable trade rules abroad.
Sheinbaum’s optimism has a deadline of her own making: she said the talks could yield results this week, and no agreement has been announced so far.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What did Sheinbaum propose on Mexico dual nationality?
A constitutional reform, sent to Congress in late August 2026, that bars dual nationals from running for president, governor or Mexico City mayor unless they renounce their other nationality. The lower house passed it on 22 September.
Has the Senate approved the reform?
Not yet. Two Senate committees approved it 23 to 9 on 23 September, and the floor vote is scheduled for 29 September. The American Society of Mexico, led by Larry Rubin, has urged senators to reject it as discriminatory. If the Senate passes it, a majority of state legislatures must still ratify it.
Does the reform affect Mexican-Americans or foreigners living in Mexico?
No, unless they want to run for president, governor or Mexico City mayor. Dual nationals keep both nationalities and their vote, and residency and naturalisation rules are unchanged.
Who is Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca?
He is the former governor of Tamaulipas, a dual Mexican-US national living in the United States. Mexico has requested his extradition and Sheinbaum calls him a fugitive from justice who committed several crimes, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Why is Mexico’s economy secretary in Washington?
Marcelo Ebrard is seeking to avert new US tariffs and reduce existing ones of 50% on steel and aluminum, 25% on vehicles and 10% on non-USMCA exports. No agreement has been announced yet.
Connected Coverage
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Sources
- El Universal
- Infobae
- Expansión Política
- Senate of Mexico
- Proceso
- Infobae, Larry Rubin asks the Senate to reject the reform, 27 September 2026
- Hora Cero, AmSoc asks the Senate to stop the reform, 27 September 2026
- Proceso, Rubin urges ruling-party senators, 27 September 2026
- eluniversal.com.mx
- mvsnoticias.com
- elfinanciero.com.mx
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief