The republic is a political system that is based on the rule of law and equality before it and is organized in this way and in all non-monarchical regimes that refers to the political body of society and the public cause. This will be the highest authority that fulfills the functions for a specified time and is elected by all citizens, either directly or through the national parliament.
What is republic
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This is defined as a system of organization of the State, whose maximum authority is chosen by the inhabitants of that country through the vote (directly, in free elections where the vote is secret) or by the Parliament, Chamber of Deputies or Senate, whose members are popularly elected. The head of state or president has the duty to exercise his functions for a limited period of time.
The etymology of the word republic comes from the Latin respublĭca, which means “public thing”, “thing of the people”, related to the public or people's affairs.
History of the republics
In ancient Greece, Plato's Republic (427-347 BC) was published by the philosopher. This work consisted of 10 books where issues framed in justice were discussed, and an ideal city was proposed whose form of government was based on philosophical principles. But the fundamental pillars of the republic were exposed by the philosopher, logician and scientist, Aristotle who was born in the year 384 and written within the 200 treatises of which only 31 have arrived.
However, the republic as such traces its origin to ancient Rome in 509 BC. after the fall of the monarchy due to the rise of the Romans against King Lucio Tarquinio, at which time the Roman Republic was established. In principle, the former obeyed some privileged minorities, who were the ones who actually exercised power.
During the Roman Empire there were times when both the monarchy and the republic predominated as a system of government alternately. In the periods of the republics of ancient Greece, slavery still existed and those who exercised power were aristocratic military groups. The arrival of the system as such came when the European absolutist monarchies fell in the 18th century, where the government of the republic came to stay by taking the people into account for the election of those who governed them.
One of the first political systems of this type was that of the United States of America, after the war for independence ended, which came to an end in 1783. In principle it was a confederation, and later it was reformed into a free federal republic with based on its Constitution, in which the separation of powers was first experienced.
The first Spanish republic had a brief period, from February 1873 when King Amadeo I of Savoy (1845-1890) resigned. This proposed different models, taking place an indefinite model as an alliance between republicans and radicals. This period was characterized by going through multiple complications in the social, economic and political spheres.
The first republic of Mexico was federalist, and was established in November 1823, which also suffered social and economic instabilities and violent scenarios. It was characterized by having two main idealistic currents, such as centralism and federalism. The country went through a stage that called itself a restored republic, which lasted between 1867 and 1876, at the end of the empire of Maximilian of Habsburg (1832-1867), in which the republic was restored at the hands of Benito Juárez (1806- 1872) and Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada (1823-1889), who began to build a more modern nation. After the restored republic, the porfiriato would come, a period in which Mexico was plunged under the control of the military Porfirio Díaz (1830-1915), which ended due to the outbreak of the Revolution.
It should be noted that throughout history, there have been governments that called themselves republics and did not respect human rights. For example, China, which is controlled by the state; the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) where something similar happened; and the Islamic republics, whose control is based on the Koran.
Characteristics of the republics
Politics
- Citizens enjoy rights and duties without distinction (rule of law), which gives them equality before the law.
- There is the separation of executive, legislative and judicial powers, in which each one enjoys autonomy.
- The law is established based on the Constitution or Magna Carta of the country, the latter being above all the statutes in force in it.
- It is the opposite alternative to tyrannical or unjust governments, where the common interest, justice and equality is the motive.
- A dictatorship can be generated, for example, in the one-party.
- The two types of corruption that it recognizes are the oligarchy, which is when power resides in a group that works for its own interests; and despotism, which is the appearance of a single power that controls the public powers.
- Its government nests in the institutions produced in the public powers and defined in the Constitution and other statutes.
- The executive makes the country's decisions and will present proposals for political projects for the future; the legislature will design the norms that will regulate government actions; and the judiciary will ensure compliance with the rules within the framework of the Magna Carta or Constitution.
Society
- Citizens will have active participation in the election of their rulers through the freedom of secret and direct vote, since in this way, citizens can exercise participation without pressure and without conditions.
- The issues are of public interest, so the community is integrated, since the governed cooperate in the establishment of the laws through their approval.
- The search for the common good, in which all levels of society have the same rights and duties.
Types of republics
Democratic republics
It is a type of government of the republic that relies on the Constitution regardless of political instability. In this form of government, both the people and the rulers submit to the equality of principles established in their constitution. The rulers are elected by popular vote, who will rule for a limited period of time.
Secular republics
In this type of republic, the State that is free of any belief and over which no religious organization exercises power, which implies that religions are at the discretion of each individual. In this type of government, absolute sovereignty is exercised in which the law is the highest principle that governs public life, where no other entity can be above it.
Confessional republics
It is the type of government that adopts a certain religion, which will be called official in that country. Usually this type of administration will be established as a consequence of the cultures and traditions of that nation regarding the beliefs of that territory, so it will be manifested in its government. This does not mean that there is no free belief in the territory, although cases could occur according to the level of tolerance that exists on the part of the practitioners of the official religion.
Federal republics
It is a government system characterized by the association of social, territorial and political entities, which have autonomy. These are made up of different territorial and political organizations. Each of these states of the republic is administered independently of the others, and can be called a state, region, province or canton, which have the power to decide on aspects of their laws.
Centralist republics
They are characterized by the centralization of their administration or politics, in which power and decision-making in the political sphere rests solely with the government, also assuming the jurisdiction of the federated states. This type of doctrine (almost extinct) is motivated by the lack of resources of each state to sustain itself; the need for planning of the administration of that country at the macro level; or the need for large-scale investments that would crumble the states of the republic.
Parliamentary republics
They are those whose legislative power is exercised by the Parliament of that country. The president of the republic will be chosen by popular election or by the parliament, but his figure is practically representative and mediator as he does not possess real powers, or in any case, his powers are limited. The Prime Minister is the one who is at the head of the administration, and generally, they come from a previous monarchy.
Presidential republics
This type of government is governed by the powers established in the Constitution, such as the Executive (the president, who will also have the position of Head of State and Government), Legislative (Congress) and Judicial. The election of the Head of State is strictly obeyed by the people through direct elections. This system offers greater stability than the parliamentary republic, since the president will be in office for a set period of time, while the prime minister may be removed at some point.
Semi-presidential republics
Also known as semi-parliamentary, it is characterized by being made up of a president, a prime minister and a cabinet. The head of state is elected by the people and has participation in decisions; the prime minister (elected by parliament) will share power with the president; and the cabinet is chosen by the president and must watch over the laws.
