Mexico is a federal presidential republic, similar in structure to the US, with power split between federal, state, and municipal governments across 32 states (including Mexico City).

The President serves a single 6-year term (a "sexenio") with no re-election — a rule dating back to the Revolution's reaction against long dictatorships. Congress has two chambers: the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.

For most of the 20th century, the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) held near-total power. That changed in 2000 when the PAN's Vicente Fox won the presidency, ending 71 years of one-party rule. Since then, power has alternated between PAN, PRI, and Morena (founded 2014, in power since 2018).

Baja California's state government sits in Mexicali (the state capital), while Ensenada, Tijuana, and Tecate each have their own municipal (municipio) governments headed by a mayor (presidente municipal).

Key day-to-day institutions expats interact with: INM (immigration), SAT (tax authority), IMSS (public healthcare/social security), and INE (the national elections authority, also responsible for the voter ID/CURP-linked ID card).

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