Question 3: The Estrada Doctrine

The Estrada Doctrine holds that governments must be formally recognized.

It is false. According to Estrada Doctrine, it is not necessary to recognise government once a

state is recognised.

The Estrada Doctrine, also known as Recognition of states approach, is contained in some brief

declaration made to the press in Mexico City on September 27 1930, by the Mexican Secretary

of Foreign Relations, Senior Don Genaro Estrada. The declaration is, in effect, an announcement

of instructions sent to the diplomatic representatives of Mexico to acquaint them with a new

policy of their government. The policy is said to have had the specific endorsement of President

Ortiz Rubio. It stated that foreign governments should not judge, positively or negatively, the

governments or changes in government of other nations, in that such action would imply a

breach to their sovereignty. This policy was said to be based on the principles of non

intervention, peaceful resolution of disputes and self-determination of all nations. It is the policy

of recognizing states rather than governments. It is an alternative to the method of express

recognition, in which an express statement is made according or withholding recognition after

each unconstitutional change of government, and tacit recognition in which, only under

exceptional circumstances, is a recognition statement made.

The reason for this new policy is the belief that recognition involves the assumption of a right to

pass critically upon the legal capacity of foreign regimes, a right which is derogatory to the

sovereignty of other states. Consequently, the Mexican Government hereafter will confine itself

to continuing or withdrawing its diplomatic representatives, and to continuing or not continuing

to accept diplomatic representatives of other states, as it may deem appropriate from time to

time, without any regard to accepting or not accepting any change of government.

Current status

During the Fox Administration (2000-2006), both Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Jorge Castañeda

and Luis Ernesto Derbez, tried to discontinue this Doctrine. The result is called the Castañeda

Doctrine, but the doctrine became effectively discontinued under President Felipe Calderón.

Criticism

Most of the critics of the doctrine were directed toward whether it was morally and politically

valid or not that the Mexican government stayed neutral in the presence of governments

categorized as dictatorships.

Jorge Castaneda, who would later serve a two-year term as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs

during the Fox Administration, criticized Mexico's foreign policy in 1987. He stated that

“ In the Mexican foreign policy, it has been continuously claimed the defense of our principles

and international law. In accordance to this, then we do not have any interest, we have

principles instead, which can be qualified as a diplomatic hypocrisy. In the long term, this

unfortunate implementation of the principles undermines any internal support for every real

foreign policy (with costs, consequences and benefits) and confers the country an arrogant

halo in the international scene.

Reference:Jessup, P. C. (1931). The Estrada Doctrine. The American Journal of International Law , 719-723. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2189922