The Mexican Armed Forces in Public Security: Path Dependence and Power Conflicts

Résumé 0

: During the administration of Felipe Calderón (2006-2012), the Armed Forces were used to combat organized crime in Mexico. Since then, the Mexican government has sought to change the military doctrine and legislation to include the concept of internal security in order to legalize the participation of the Army and Navy in public security. However, after the creation of the National Gendarmerie within the Federal Police during the administration of Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018), the Army decided to strengthen the Military Police as the body in charge of internal security operations. Path dependence on the use of Armed Forces for public security purposes is being maintained by the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador with the creation of the National Guard. This paper seeks to find the institutional and political causes that are behind the strengthening of the Armed Forces and the military doctrine shift towards public security in Mexico. Some of the questions to be answered are: Which are the organizational reasons behind these changes in the Mexican Army? Are there institutional incentives in the Mexican Armed Forces that are pushing for these changes? Is there a regional agenda, supported by the United States, which encourages these changes? Which are the medium- and long-term consequences of these changes for the Mexican Army?