51茶馆

February 22, 2018

A record 29,000 Mexicans were murdered last year – can soldiers stop the bloodshed?

Mexico’s war on drugs has left 234,966 people dead in the last 11 years. In 2017 alone, the country saw some 29,000 murders, the highest annual tally since such record-keeping began in 1997.

For years, incensed Mexicans have demanded that President Enrique Pe帽a Nieto 鈥� now in the final stretch of his six-year term 鈥� take action. Recently, lawmakers from his Revolutionary Institutional Party proposed a controversial solution: .

Despite and , who say the law will actually escalate violence, on Dec. 15, 2017, the .

Just before Christmas, Pe帽a Nieto . In response, activists in fountains across Mexico City to symbolize the bloodshed it would usher in.

 

 

A military history of massacres

I鈥檝e been the violence in my home country for decades. While something must be done to stem the bloodshed, history shows that militarizing law enforcement will hurt rather than help.

Mexico鈥檚 military has actually been fighting crime informally for over a decade. In 2006, former President Felipe Calder贸n sent to battle cartels in the state of Michoac谩n. And they never really stopped.

The consequences have been grave. Between 2012 and 2016, Mexico鈥檚 attorney general launched 505 investigations into alleged 鈥� including torture and forced disappearances 鈥� committed by the military.

In 2014, soldiers shot 22 unarmed citizens in . Later that year, the army was allegedly involved in the of 43 students from a teachers college in southern Mexico.

Much of the military鈥檚 extrajudicial violence is undocumented and investigations move slowly, so crimes by the armed forces have been difficult to prosecute. In 11 years, have been convicted of human rights abuses in civilian courts.

Supporters of the Internal Security Law, including Secretary of Defense , say the new law will right this wrong. By providing a legal framework for the armed forces to take on law enforcement duties, it ensures stricter regulation and more oversight.

Security experts, on the other hand, call the Internal Security Law , saying it delays much-needed police reforms and violates , which prohibits using the military for Mexico鈥檚 public security.

The authoritarian connection

The idea of 鈥渋nternal security鈥� has a in Mexican law. It first appeared just after the country鈥檚 independence from Spain, in 1822. According to the short-lived Emperor Agust铆n de Iturbide, 鈥渢he internal order and the external security鈥� of the fledgling nation.

In practice, that meant those who had opposed Iturbide鈥檚 dissolution of Congress and proclamation of himself as Mexico鈥檚 new emperor.

Authoritarian regimes have since invoked 鈥渋nternal security鈥� 鈥� which made its way into the country鈥檚 1917 constitution 鈥� to fight all sorts of rebels, from to student liberals to .

The new Internal Security Law continues this tradition, giving the president , to intervene when other federal and local forces cannot handle certain 鈥渢hreats to internal security.鈥�

Built-in safeguards are supposed to prevent the government from abusing this power. Within 72 hours of such a threat emerging, the president must publish a 鈥渄esignation of protection鈥� that details the specific place and limited time frame of military occupation.

In practice, though, these requirements are optional. the law says, the president can take 鈥渋mmediate action.鈥�

The new law contains other concerning contradictions. states that peaceful protests do not constitute a threat to Mexico鈥檚 internal security. This should avoid a repeat of the , in which soldiers in Mexico City gunned down hundreds of student demonstrators.

But by deeming 鈥渃ontrolling, repelling or neutralizing acts of resistance鈥� to be a legitimate use of military force.

The most challenged law

Mexican human rights advocates aren鈥檛 the only ones alarmed by the new law. In December, both the and asked the president to veto it.

Instead, Pe帽a Nieto approved the law but that it would not be enforced until the Supreme Court can review its constitutionality.

The Supreme Court has now received thousands of legal challenges to the Internal Security Law. Suits alleging that the law encroaches on Mexicans鈥� basic rights were filed by Mexico鈥檚 , and . More than citizens have also submitted individual complaints on similar grounds. On Feb. 12, the hugely , traveled to Mexico City to personally file a claim in the name of the people of his state.

No date has yet been set for the 11 Supreme Court justices to hear arguments.

The problem with the police

Another consequence of the Internal Security Law, in my analysis, is that it will further weaken Mexico鈥檚 already troubled police force.

According to a , Mexico has just 0.8 police officers per 1,000 inhabitants 鈥� less than half what the U.N. 鈥� recommends.

The report also notes that just 1 in 4 officers has received sufficient training. And out of 39 police academies, only 6 satisfy the minimum conditions 鈥� for example, dormitories, medical services or training infrastructure 鈥� to be considered fully functional.

Mexico鈥檚 police are also widely perceived as and . In part, that鈥檚 due to their low salaries. Currently, officers in poor states like Chiapas and Tabasco earn about half the federally recommended minimum monthly salary of 9,993 pesos, or US$500.

To supplement their poverty wages, as Mexicans well know, many police officers have traditionally turned to . More recently, some police have gotten involved in more lucrative criminal activity, they鈥檙e supposed to be fighting.

 

 

Successive Mexican governments have used the shortcomings in the police force to justify sending in soldiers and marines, claiming it鈥檚 a while the police are professionalized. The new law has turned this temporary solution into national policy.

A spectacular failure

The military from corruption.

The brutal Zetas cartel, infamous for , was by deserters of the Mexican army鈥檚 elite special forces.

The claim that the military can keep Mexicans safe was recently put to its first test. In January President Pe帽a Nieto to the city of Reynosa, in Tamaulipas state, where criminal groups have been violently clashing. The army said it could not guarantee his safety there.

If the military cannot even protect the president, Mexicans ask, what hope do the people have?

, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, Constitutional Law and Legal Theory,

This article was originally published on . Read the .

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