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