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Comparison

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Because every portal follows the same fifteen-section outline, the comparison is genuinely like-for-like rather than a collage of whatever each government happens to publish.

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Comparison of selected legal systems
AttributeEquatorial GuineaIndexedBelizeReviewedMexicoReviewed
Legal familyCivil law (Spanish tradition)Common lawCivil law
System of governmentUnitary presidential republicParliamentary constitutional monarchyFederal presidential republic
ConstitutionFundamental Law of Equatorial GuineaBelize ConstitutionPolitical Constitution of the United Mexican States
In force since199119811917
CapitalMalaboBelmopanMexico City
Official languagesSpanish, French, PortugueseEnglish, Spanish, Belize Kriol, Q'eqchi', MopanSpanish, Nahuatl, Yucatec Maya
CurrencyCentral African CFA franc (XAF)Belize dollar (BZD)Mexican peso (MXN)
Population1,700,000410,000130,000,000
Division of powersPresidential system with a Vice-President and Prime Minister, a bicameral Parliament of Chamber of Deputies and Senate, and a judiciary headed by the Supreme Court of Justice.Unitary, with six districts and elected town and village councils. Maya communal land rights in Toledo are recognised through the courts rather than by statute, and implementation is supervised by the CCJ.Federal. Powers not expressly granted to the union are reserved to the 32 states (Article 124). States run their own civil, family and criminal-enforcement codes, but criminal procedure, labour and commercial law were federalised to produce single national codes.
How law is madeBills pass the Chamber of Deputies and Senate and are promulgated by the President, who may return a text for reconsideration.A bill passes three readings in the House of Representatives, then the Senate, and receives the Governor-General's assent. Money bills originate in the House. Constitutional amendments need a two-thirds majority of all House members, and certain entrenched provisions require three-quarters.Bills may be introduced by the President, either chamber, state legislatures or by citizens with 0.13% of the electoral roll. Both chambers must pass an identical text; the President may veto, and Congress overrides with two-thirds of each chamber. Constitutional amendments need two-thirds of Congress plus a majority of state legislatures (Article 135).
Legal professionAbogados admitted through the Ilustre Colegio de Abogados; practice requires competence in both Spanish codes and French-language OHADA texts.A fused profession of attorneys-at-law admitted by the High Court under the Legal Profession Act, with the Bar Association of Belize exercising disciplinary functions. Commonwealth qualifications are recognised on application, which keeps a small bar workable.A law degree plus a cédula profesional from the Education Ministry licenses practice; there is no compulsory bar examination or single mandatory bar, which distinguishes Mexico from most of the region. Notaries public are a separate, strictly limited state-appointed profession with exclusive competence over real estate and company deeds.

A comparison table flattens nuance by design. Where a difference matters to a decision you are making, open both portals and read the section in full — the constitutional detail behind a one-line summary is often the part that governs the outcome.