Mexico Moves to Place National Guard Under Military Control
On Friday, the Mexican Chamber of Deputies passed a new bill which would place the National Guard under military control. the bill is now moving to the senate where it will also likely pass.
The Mexican National Guard is a civilian-controlled paramilitary force which was formed in 2019 by President Lopez Obrador from elements of the federal, military and navy police forces. Today, it maintains a strength of nearly 120,000 personnel. President Obrador initially campaigned on a promise to take the military off the streets and planned to use the National Guard to replace the military as the primary security force in the cartel-violence-torn country. However, during a recent conference, Obradar stated that “I changed my mind once I saw the problem they [the previous government] had left me with”. According to the president, one of the primary reasons for the decision is to ensure that the guard maintains a high level of discipline and does not become corrupted.
While the National Guard, Mexican armed forces, and president both maintain a positive approval rating, the plan has faced significant pushback from the political opposition and elements of civil society who see the move as a sign of further militarization of Mexican life and a threat to civil liberties. Under Obrador, the military’s role in domestic affairs had grown with personnel being deployed to run public infrastructure such as airports, construct new infrastructure, help with the Covid response and help secure the border. Thus, while Mexico’s military has been closely involved in police-work ever since 2006, its role has recently been significantly expanded. And, with Latin America’s history of military coups and dictatorships, it is not hard to see why some may be concerned.
If the new Mexican legislation passes, it will very likely face immediate challenges through the Mexican judiciary.