Whether one should regard law and society or sociology of law in Mexico as an established discipline in the field of social science depends on a definition for these terms and on the period considered.

If one defines sociology of law broadly to encompass the use of social science perspectives to approach legal phenomena, then Mexico has some tradition in sociolegal studies. Mexican legal history, in particular, enjoys a visible degree of development, as attested by numerous and significant studies by both foreign and Mexican scholars. Legal anthropology and criminology have also generated important research. Political science and [Page 1021]sociology have contributed to sociolegal studies in this broad sense in that they have occasionally dealt with the normative aspects of political institutions.

In more recent years, and ...