What is federal?

What Does federal Mean

The Latin word foedus , which can be translated as "pact" , came to our language as federal . This adjective refers to what is linked to federalism : the doctrine, the current or the system based on the precepts of the federation .

To know what the term federal refers to, therefore, it is essential to understand what a federation is. This is the name of an entity that arises from the formal and stable union of its various members, who maintain ties ordered according to principles of autonomy , participation, hierarchy and unity.
A federation, in short, is a grouping of entities that are relatively autonomous . Many times the federation arises from the association of political or territorial entities that unite under this type of regime.

A federal state is one whose constitutional powers are distributed between the central government and the different particular states that comprise it. In a centralized or unitary state , on the other hand, there is a single center of political power that exercises control over the entire territory.
The countries which are formed by different administrative capacity territorial units (municipalities, provinces, regions, etc.) and have a central government, known as federal states . These states are often organized as republics (that is, federal republics ).
Mexico is an example of a federal state or federal republic. This country has thirty-two states: Mexico City (which is the federal capital) and thirty-one states. The National Constitution , promulgated in 1917 , establishes the regulations and limits in the relationship between the different orders of government (municipal, state and federal), between the powers of the federation (the Judicial Power, the Legislative Power and the Executive Power) and between these powers and the citizens.
Other names by which the concept of federal state is known are federal republic and federation . At first and from a purely theoretical point of view, one of the main reasons why the federal system of government was designed was to hand over to the poor the excess power that the rich enjoyed, to achieve a balance in society .
The application of a federal government is a good option for countries of large dimensions from a territorial point of view, with a very diverse group of inhabitants, although there is always a common culture that unites them all. We could say, therefore, that this is nothing more than "a great federation."

Each of the regional and state governments, which are many and smaller than the central government of a country, receives a certain number of responsibilities so that each sector has a well-defined objective that benefits the whole.
Although the development of each country depends on many more factors than its political organization, theorists recognize certain advantages of the federal state, some of which are listed below:
* The agreements that the rulers carry out may have a closer link and a more local character, given the greater proximity between the authorities and the citizens;
* Citizens have greater participation, in addition to fewer difficulties in enjoying it;
* problems and their potential solutions can be presented to the people through more direct channels;
* the government has more facility for the development of policies, for the evaluation of results and for the supervision of the public administration.
It is also possible to speak of a decentralized federal state , since the central government is transferred to the authorities below it. This relationship is not exactly vertical, but rather an attribution of power in favor of local governments to act as agents of the central.