Page:A Study of Mexico.djvu/117

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THE MEXICAN CONGRESS.
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ner as are those of the United States, but seem to be less under the control of the central Federal Government, and the Federal Supreme Court, than in the latter country. There is little interest among the people of the Mexican States in national affairs, and consequently little of national spirit; a result naturally to be expected when one recalls that a large proportion of the population are Indians, who are wholly uneducated, have no conception of what their government is apart from military rule, and do not in the least concern themselves about its details. The leaders in the States are also largely military men, and experience in the past has shown that they are rarely restrained by sentiments of pride or patriotism from using their influence for their own personal advantage, and with little regard for the public welfare. The Mexican Federal Government, like that of the United States also, is composed of three departments—the legislative, executive, and judicial. Congress consists of a Senate and House of Representatives. There are about two hundred and thirty members of the latter body, elected for two years, and apportioned at the rate of one member for forty thousand inhabitants. The Senate comprises fifty-six members, two from each State. Congressmen and senators are paid three thousand dollars a year. A president of the Sen-