MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Senate early Wednesday morning voted to impose the National Guard under the command of the military, despite widespread criticism of the further militarization of the country.
It is the second constitutional amendment in two weeks, giving outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador another victory days before he leaves office. Congress passed a controversial judicial reform he pushed for on Sept. 11 that forces all of the country’s judges to run for office, raising concerns about politicization of the judiciary.
The National Guard was a security force presented as civilian and run by the Ministry of Public Security.
After a night of debate, the ruling Morena party and its allies overcame opposition fueled by concerns from human rights groups and the United Nations. They denied that the change would militarize the country, saying instead that the military would help the National Guard become a more effective security force.
The president had tried before to place the National Guard under military command, but it was declared unconstitutional last year by the Supreme Court.
Senator Luis Donaldo Colosio of the opposition Citizen Movement party said that giving military control to the National Guard instead of creating a real civilian police force normalized the idea that Mexico must be under military control to achieve peace. “It is not the peace of justice,” he said, adding that it condemned Mexicans to choose between armed conflict or imposed silence.
In 2019, López Obrador disbanded Mexico’s Federal Police and created the National Guard. While it included some former police officers, the majority of its members were military police, with a command structure made up of recently retired military officers.
Successive governments have relied heavily on the military, as civilian police were outgunned by the country’s powerful drug cartels. López Obrador has placed his full trust in the military over the past six years, significantly expanding its responsibilities and portfolio, not only in public security but also in other civilian areas such as port management and airports.