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Constitution and Edicts
October 20, 2026 at 08:05 PM
Initial version (2026-10-20)
The constitution and edicts are the main tools for setting policy in Tropico 7. Both are managed in the Edicts & Constitution menu, and both are tied to the new Political Matrix: the constitution decides where El Presidente stands politically, and that position decides which edicts can be enacted. Kalypso Media described the system in the first dev log (April 17, 2026) and the official FAQ. The game releases on January 28, 2027.
Players can draft a fully custom constitution or choose a predefined model. The FAQ names militaristic and theocratic rule as examples of predefined models. In the menu, the predefined constitutions are listed on the left and can be amended on the right.
Every constitutional option affects El Presidente's position on the Political Matrix. A blue arrow next to each option shows the political direction it pushes in. According to the FAQ, always selecting the most socially oriented sections places El Presidente very far to the left.
From the World Wars era onwards, individual sections of the constitution can be amended once per legislative term, meaning between elections. Because amendments move El Presidente on the matrix, they can change which edicts are available. See Eras for the four eras.
Edicts are individual laws activated in addition to the constitution. Official material describes these rules:
Each edict has pros and cons.
Some edicts are subject to conditions, but these only need to be met once.
All edicts are placed on the Political Matrix, and only those with a political orientation similar to El Presidente's can be activated. For example, a very left-wing law cannot be enacted after a very right-wing constitution has been chosen.
If a constitutional amendment moves El Presidente, edicts that no longer fit his position may be deactivated.
The FAQ summarises the link: "Available edicts depend on where El Presidente is located in the Political Matrix." It adds that certain ideological paths unlock unique edicts and restrict others, and that El Presidente's political stance directly influences how citizens and factions react to his decrees. The August 2025 announcement described the same idea as a political affiliation system in which players pick an individual dictatorship style that unlocks fitting edicts.
There is one way around the political limit. Fulfilling the demands of a faction can earn a faction deal as a reward, which lets the player activate an edict inside that faction's sphere even if it lies outside El Presidente's political orientation. See Factions and the Council.
As of October 2026, Kalypso has not published an edict list. The only edict that official material presents as an in-game edict is the "right to ice cream", which the heads of Gaming Minds Studios mentioned in the second dev log as one result of brainstorming sessions about El Presidente's policies. The first dev log's edicts section carries the heading "Free ice cream for all!". As of October 2026, no other edicts had been confirmed by name.
Elections and election speeches are part of the game, and the store feature list mentions "a vast portfolio of edicts depending on your political standing". Citizen satisfaction translates into support for El Presidente at the next election (see Citizens and Satisfaction), and the legislative term between elections sets the pace for constitutional amendments.
In April 2026 the dev log said the look of the edicts menu, including edict names and icons, was still a work in progress. The team also planned a filter to show specific types of edicts, such as those related to work or the police. As of October 2026, Kalypso had not confirmed whether the filter will be in the release version.