Flag flying days in Mexico


In Article 18 of the Law on the National Arms, Flag, and Anthem there is a listing of dates that the Mexican flag is flown by all branches of government. Civilians are also encouraged to display the national flag on these days. Many of the dates listed in the law denote significant events and people that shaped of Mexican identity and the course of its History. Some of the holidays and commemorations listed require the flag to be flown at half-staff. The national flag can be flown any day of the year by civilians or at festive occasions in persurrence to Article 15 of the Law on the National Arms, Flag, and Anthem.

Full staff

The Mexican flag will be flown at full staff on the following days:
DateOccasion
21 JanuaryBirth of Ignacio Allende.
5 FebruaryAdoption of the Constitutions of 1857 and 1917.
19 FebruaryDía del Ejército Mexicano.
24 FebruaryDía de la Bandera.
1 MarchProclamation of the Plan of Ayutla.
18 MarchAnniversary of the Oil Expropriation.
21 MarchBirth of Benito Juárez.
26 MarchAdoption of the Plan of Guadalupe during the Mexican Revolution.
2 AprilCapture of Puebla.
21 April Heroic defense of Veracruz to prevent occupation by United States forces.
1 MayDía del Trabajo.
5 MayAnniversary of the Victory over the French Army in Puebla, in 1862.
8 MayBirth of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the initiator of the War Mexican Independence.
15 MayCapture of Querétaro by the forces of the Republic which led to the fall of the Second Mexican Empire.
1 JuneDía de la Marina Nacional.
21 JuneVictory of the Republican Armies over the Second Mexican Empire.
1 SeptemberOpening of the first ordinary session of the Mexican Congress.
14 SeptemberIncorporation of Chiapas as a Federal State.
15 SeptemberCommemoration of the Grito de Dolores.
16 SeptemberBeginning of the Mexican War of Independence.
27 SeptemberFormal conclusion of the Mexican War of Independence.
30 SeptemberBirth of José María Morelos.
12 OctoberDía de la Raza.
23 OctoberDía Nacional de la Aviación..
24 OctoberDía de las Naciones Unidas..
30 OctoberBirth of Francisco I. Madero.
6 NovemberAdoption of the Act of National Independence by the Congress of Chilpancingo.
20 NovemberBeginning of the Mexican Revolution.
29 DecemberBirth of Venustiano Carranza,.
DecemberOn the day of the Closing of Session of the Mexican Congress.

Half staff

On these following days, the national flag is flown at half staff, mostly commemorating the deaths of important heroes. At any time, the President of Mexico can issue a decree to have the flag flown at half-staff to honor the death of a person who was a major figure of the Mexican government, Mexican society, the head of state of another nation or a tragic event on a major scale. One example is that on the 19th anniversary of the Mexico City earthquake in 1985, President Vicente Fox lowered the flags to half staff to honor the estimated 6,000 people who were killed.
DateMotive
14 FebruaryDeath of Vicente Guerrero.
22 FebruaryDeath of Francisco I. Madero.
28 FebruaryDeath of Cuauhtémoc, last Aztec Emperor.
10 AprilDeath of Emiliano Zapata.
2 May Death of the pilots of the 201st Mexican Expeditionary Air Force during World War II.
21 MayDeath of Venustiano Carranza.
5 JuneCommemoration of the victims of the 2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire.
17 JulyDeath of General Alvaro Obregón.
18 JulyDeath of Benito Juárez.
30 JulyDeath of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.
12 SeptemberCommemoration of the sacrifice of Saint Patrick's Battalion during the Mexican–American War.
13 SeptemberFall of the Niños Héroes during the Battle of Chapultepec.
19 SeptemberAnniversaries of the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, 2017 Chiapas earthquake and the 2017 Puebla earthquake
2 OctoberCommemoration of the Tlatelolco massacre.
7 OctoberCommemoration of the sacrifice of Senator Belisario Domínguez.
22 DecemberDeath of José María Morelos.

Former flag days

There also have been occasions where official flag day notices that been announced in the Official Journal of the Federation, but later revoked. One such case was that 1 November was declared a holiday to hoist the national flag in 1991, but was later removed from the list four years later from another order published in Official Journal of the Federation.