The national guard will attempt to combat a rising tide of violence, but its mission is uncertain.
By Kevin Sieff Kevin Sieff Latin America Correspondent Email Bio Follow February 28 at 6:13 PM MEXICO CITY — In a country where there were 2,452 homicides in January alone, there are few options for a president who campaigned as a pacifist. Just ask Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
It was clear that López Obrador, known by his initials AMLO, had to do something. In 2018, there were 28,816 homicides, a 15 percent increase from the previous year. The most recent figures added up to the bloodiest January since Mexico began keeping such records in 1997. Drug cartels, gangs of fuel thieves and other organized-crime groups exert enormous influence across most of the country.
Once the majority of state legislatures approve the national guard — a near certainty given that López Obrador’s party controls many of them — it is expected to begin operations in mid-March. “What worries me most is that we’re basically accepting that Mexico will be a country policed by the military for the foreseeable future,” said Esteban Illades, the editor of Nexos magazine. “After 12 years of fighting cartels, this government that once promised a different approach still hasn’t found a sensible solution. They’re just repeating what they’ve been doing.”
For years, the military’s deployment in domestic affairs has been hotly debated in Mexico. López Obrador’s immediate predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto, introduced a policy that allowed troops to take on police duties. But the Supreme Court of Justice ruled last year that the policy was unconstitutional, arguing that the military could not be deployed indefinitely.
Mexico’s Congress attempted to address some of those concerns in its legislation. For example, members of the national guard who are accused of committing crimes would be prosecuted in civilian courts, not military ones. Also, Mexico’s 31 states would have significant control over the local actions of the force.
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