Fundamentals of Government and Political Science

Branches of Government

Executive Branch

The Executive Branch is led by the President, who performs their duties, appoints a ministry, and heads the cabinet. In case of illness, death, resignation, or removal, the President is replaced by the Vice President.

Legislative Branch

The Legislative Branch is a collegial body whose function is to draft and enact laws. It is formed by the legislature, typically meeting for sessions, and has two chambers.

Judiciary Branch

The Judiciary Branch is responsible for administering justice through the courts, including lower courts.

Political Concepts Defined

The State

The State is the social and political organization, sovereign and fixed throughout its institutions, which has the power to regulate national life in a particular territory.

The Nation

The Nation, in a legal-political sense, is the constituent sovereignty of a state. It is also an ideology that unites a human community with certain common cultural characteristics.

Territory

Territory is the geographical area where the state is settled.

Power

Power is a fundamental factor in the state. Our representatives are elected by vote.

Population

Population refers to the inhabitants of the state.

Representation and Forms

Representative Government

If the good of the people is sovereign, they cannot govern directly but must delegate the exercise of government functions to selected persons. The people rule through their representatives, who may act based on a mandate or specific instructions.

Federal Form

Federal Form means the recognition that the Republic is composed of autonomous political entities, called provinces. In a federal system, the power to govern the country is divided between two sets of government levels: the central or national government and local and provincial governments.

Republican Form

Republican Form establishes the principle of popular sovereignty, implying that the people are the ultimate authority.

State vs. Nation Distinction

The State is the entity receiving sovereign political authority over a given territory, comprising a whole of government organizations and, by extension, its own territory. The state remains the same while governments succeed one another.

Nation, in the strict sense, has two meanings: the political nation, in the legal-political sense, is the political subject in which the constituent sovereignty of a State resides. The cultural nation, a more subjective and ambiguous socio-ideological concept, can be defined broadly as a human community with common cultural characteristics, which gives it an ethical-political identity.