Could the United States become México’s 33rd state? There’s a movement to do that

The election of the first Mexican migrant senator to México’s federal legislature could be a step forward for the creation of a 33rd state of the Mexican republic in the United States.

“It’s going to be a little complicated because we’re in another country,” said activist Ángel Noriega, adding that Mexican activists abroad have not worked on the 33rd State proposal enough.

Although the 33rd state proposal is “an idea,” Leonel Flores said they have lobbied the Mexican government to consider the move in order to legislate in their favor and give them rights like any Mexican citizen has in any state of the republic.

A 33rd Mexican state would not mean that México would replace the United States government and assume governmental responsibilities, but would expand the representation of Mexican nationals living here and in other parts of the world.

“I think that right now the focus is on making more progress so that México is better,” said Karina Ruiz, migrant senator-elect and resident of Arizona.

“But we are going to be exploring this idea of forming a constituency abroad that involves Mexicans abroad, like this sixth constituency or that 33rd state,” said Ruiz, a DACA recipient.

“We are going to be exploring it to see how it works legally,” said Ruiz of the proposal.

An idea that has been discussed for decades

Flores said that the 33rd State “is not a done deal, but it is an idealization,” adding that the proposal has been put forward to the Mexican government for years without success.

For several years, the Mexican community in the United States has asked the federal government of México to establish the 33rd State abroad, to represent not only Mexicans living in the United States, but all Mexicans abroad.

“There is a president who can make those changes so that the law is modified so that Mexicans abroad can vote and be voted for. It does not necessarily have to be on the plurinominal list, but directly elected by vote,” Flores said.

(The plurinominal list allows a Mexican party to add candidates for a federal post without having that person do any campaigning. The winners are based on how many votes a party gets.)

The objective of the proposal is to have legislators who represent Mexicans abroad in the Mexican Congress.

Flores said that activists and migrant leaders have proposed that Mexicans living in the United States be considered the 33rd state of México.

“And what does that imply? “Well, it implies that there has to be a budget, financing, programs, aid,” said Flores. “That it is taken into account in all economic and political aspects. Like any state, it has its rights.”

México has 32 states and a federal district. Some 40 million Mexicans live outside of México – from the United States to Europe and Asia.

Having a political voice

Noriega said that at the very least the Mexican government should consider the No. 6 constituency so that they can take it politically.

“We want to vote and be voted for,” Noriega said.

The creation of a sixth constituency would establish that there would be deputies and senators abroad, who would represent migrants.

“That way they can legislate, they can grant resources, grant programs, grant any assistance, any legislation that any state in México has,” Flores said, adding that Mexicans abroad provide more resources to México in terms of remittances, which totaled more than $63 billion last year.

Ruiz said that he has heard the issue of the 33rd State many times, but did not comment further on it.

Currently, México – which is divided into regions that include several states in the country – has five constituencies.

The previous legislature had 10 migrant deputies, two per constituency.

The Morena party – whose presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum won – had five migrant deputies as the majority party. The other positions were distributed among the other parties.

The Senate, which has 128 senators in the country, did not have migrant representatives until the 2024 elections were held on June 2.

Ruiz said that it was something that was fought for so that “there would be this figure of the senator, migrant senator by affirmative action via majority representation.”

The June elections were the first that had representation of migrants living abroad on the ballot list.

An historic election

Ruiz’s election to the Mexican Senate is historic because it will be the first time that there will be a specific seat in the Senate on the plurinominal list where Ruiz occupied the 12th place.

A plurinominal candidate is elected by the number of votes received by the party, since they are not voted for directly. The current system does not allow for direct voting for candidates on the plurinominal list.

Noriega said that Ruiz’s election as a migrant representative from the United States to the Mexican legislature, “works very well or can work now. The problem is the way they are getting to those positions, we are not necessarily choosing them, but it is a party system.”

Ruiz, whose parents are from Oaxaca, would be traveling to Mexico during the legislative sessions.

Ruiz, 39, said that while there hasn’t been much progress with the proposed new constituency to represent Mexicans abroad, she will be representing 40 million Mexicans outside of México – from the United States to Europe and Asia – in México’s federal legislature over the next six years.

Ruiz visited the Central Valley in early July where she visited several Valley communities, including San Joaquín and Reedley.

In Reedley, Ruiz met with a group of farmers to help them pick plums.

Ruiz said she will take that experience with her to the Mexican Senate where she plans to speak about the needs of Mexicans abroad and the hard work of farmers who sustain food on both sides of the border to advocate more for them and their rights.

Ruiz said she will be on the Foreign Relations, North America, Migration and Border Affairs, Health and Education committees, since these are the committees “in which we need to have influence in order to improve and ensure that everything that is transforming México also reaches Mexicans abroad.”

This story was originally published August 5, 2024 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Could the United States become México’s 33rd state? There’s a movement to do that."