Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Wants to Reform Mexican National Guard

After establishing Mexico's National Guard in 2019, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has already proposed reforms in his landmark security force after failing to address the ongoing security crisis.

According to human rights advocacy group WOLA, the Mexican National Guard was launched with great fanfare but struggled to reduce crime and violence in the country. It was a nominally civilian organization at first, but the president is proposing that it should be turned into a total military authority.

The Associated Press reported that this was a dramatic shift for AMLO as he called for soldiers to return to the barracks earlier in his career. He even ran a campaign to demilitarize the war on drugs.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's Proposal for National Guard Reforms Faces Legal Challenges

The Mexican president has already proposed legislation for the reforms. However, his critics argued that enabling legislation for the National Guard was not sufficient to change it, as it was constitutionally established as a civilian authority to the military.

Ana Lorena Delgadillo, director of the Justice Foundation, noted that Article 21 of the Mexican constitution establishes that the National Guard is a body of a civilian character.

It's also under the authority of the Security and Citizen Protection Secretary. Because of this, transferring its authority to the Ministry of Defense requires constitutional reform.

The Justice Foundation director added that even if they tried for constitutional reform to change the National Guard, lawmakers would still need to evaluate if placing the National Guard under the military would align with the "spirit of civilian security that governs the constitution."

In his argument about why the changes must be made, Lopez Obrador said civilian police have failed to secure the country, and the military is Mexico's most trusted institution.

He noted that the National Guard is essentially already a military institution. AMLO added that of its 110,000 members, over 80% are from the Army and Navy and is only functioning because of military leadership.

However, it was pointed out that the president may not have enough votes in Congress to pass this proposed change.

National Guard in Mexico Established as Civilian Force to Keep the Peace, as Drug Cartels Infiltrate Police

WOLA reported that the National Guard in Mexico assumed all federal policing functions by the end of 2019, as federal police were marred by cases of corruption and human rights violations.

It was created with much fanfare, as it was no secret that the drug cartels had already infiltrated both local and federal police. Cases of corruption among the police have also been rampant, with trust in the police already degrading as AMLO took office.

According to the Baker Institute For Public Policy, the National Guard was supposed to be a hybrid military-civilian force that would tackle organized crime and enhance border security. It was supposed to be a force under civilian rule, and AMLO even enshrined that fact in the constitution.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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