{"id":6683,"date":"2018-12-13T02:45:04","date_gmt":"2018-12-13T07:45:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/?p=6683"},"modified":"2018-12-13T02:45:04","modified_gmt":"2018-12-13T07:45:04","slug":"mexicos-new-president-creates-yet-another-national-police-force-but-it-will-struggle-to-stem-the-bloody-crimewave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/?p=6683","title":{"rendered":"Mexico\u2019s New President Creates Yet Another National Police Force \u2013 but It Will Struggle to Stem the Bloody Crimewave"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure style=\"width: 4885px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/248743\/original\/file-20181204-34125-wuqesq.jpg\" width=\"4885\" height=\"3257\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Investiture of Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico City on December 1. EPA Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Mexico\u2019s new president, Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador (known as AMLO), was sworn in on December 1, after a five month transition period following his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2018\/jul\/02\/mexico-election-leftist-amlo-set-for-historic-landslide-victory\">landslide electoral victory<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Faced with an unassailable crime wave that has ravaged the country since 2007 \u2013 when then-president Felipe Calder\u00f3n (2006-2012) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/01\/27\/world\/americas\/27mexico.html\">declared an all-out war on organised crime<\/a> \u2013 L\u00f3pez Obrador outlined his security strategy shortly before taking office, after <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/mexicos-new-president-has-plans-to-make-his-country-safer-but-will-they-work-100441\">months of speculation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"3HtKT\" class=\"tc-infographic-datawrapper\" style=\"border: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/3HtKT\/1\/\" width=\"100%\" height=\"400px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Against a background of nearly 30,000 intentional homicides a year (the worst rate in recent history), the plan contains some sensible \u2013 though vague \u2013 proposals, such as an overhaul of the prison system, and a <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/marijuana-in-mexico-how-to-legalise-it-effectively-fairly-and-safely-107856\">rethink of drug prohibition<\/a>. But his plan has drawn <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2018\/nov\/21\/president-elect-amlo-pledges-new-military-force-fight-crime-mexico\">intense criticism<\/a> for proposing the creation of a new national guard under military control as the main tool to fight crime across the entire country.<\/p>\n<p>The national guard would combine battalions from the army and navy, as well as the civilian Federal Police, into a new security force under the control of the Ministry of Defence. Furthermore, a recruitment drive aims to grow the fledgling force to 150,000 troops within three years. Though the new force will be nominally under civilian control, its training, discipline, values, hierarchy and daily operations will be under military command.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Boots on the ground<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During the campaign, L\u00f3pez Obrador promised to send the military back to the barracks. A decade of troops on the frontline of the drug wars has left a string of human rights abuses and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/05\/27\/world\/americas\/mexican-militarys-high-kill-rate-raises-human-rights-fears.html\">piling body count<\/a>. So the announcement of a new national guard \u2013 which came shortly after the Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jurist.org\/news\/2018\/11\/mexico-supreme-court-rules-military-policing-law-unconstitutional\/\">struck down<\/a> a controversial law that permitted the use of the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/as-the-cartels-grow-deadlier-should-the-mexican-military-be-involved-in-law-enforcement-89134\">armed forces in policing duties<\/a> \u2013 left many of his supporters in shock.<\/p>\n<p>As the security plan would in effect dissolve the Federal Police \u2013 a civilian agency \u2013 and eschews any mention of improving the country\u2019s weak municipal and state police agencies, the national guard is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/es\/2018\/11\/28\/opinion-lopez-obrador-guardia-nacional\/\">seen by many<\/a> as a permanent step towards military control of the security sector.<\/p>\n<p>This was extensively <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ipsnews.net\/2018\/11\/president-elects-security-plan-disappoints-civil-society-mexico\">condemned by Mexican civil society<\/a>, as well as by international organisations. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2018\/11\/mexico-el-plan-del-nuevo-gobierno-debe-enfocarse-en-retirar-las-fuerzas-armadas-de-funciones-de-seguridad-publica\/\">Amnesty International<\/a> said the proposal \u201cessentially imitates the failed militarised security model [that] has allowed serious human rights violations to be committed by the armed forces\u201d, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2018\/11\/16\/mexico-military-policing-threatens-rights-0\">Human Rights Watch<\/a> called it a \u201ccolossal mistake\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/157810194\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">The trailer for Armed to the Teeth, a film about army brutality in Mexico.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In addition, the proposed force is unlikely to be a panacea. On the one hand, it simply perpetuates the current security strategy that has so far failed to curb violence in the country. On the other, the national guard would still be too small to police a country as large and complex as Mexico, even assuming that it reaches its overly optimistic recruitment targets.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The great paradox of police reform<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Most worrying, however, is that the proposed national guard \u2013 the fourth new national police force to be created in as many presidencies \u2013 is a perfect example of what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sup.org\/books\/title\/?id=21512\">Daniel Sabet<\/a> called \u201cone of the great paradoxes of police reform in Mexico\u201d. That \u201cseemingly dramatic changes, such as dissolving one police force and creating an entirely new one, might in practice amount to very little reform of how policing is done\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>To justify the national guard, L\u00f3pez Obrador claims that there have been no improvements whatsoever in the quality of the police services in the past 12 years. This is not precisely true. While most police agencies are far from perfect, there have been notable improvements. The Federal Police has vastly improved its technical and human capabilities since 2006, and several state and municipal forces have become successful <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-latin-america-43302244\">case<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/09\/01\/world\/americas\/mexico-violence-police.html?ref=nyt-es&amp;mcid=nyt-es&amp;subid=article\">studies<\/a> in their own right.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center \"><figure style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/248805\/original\/file-20181204-34154-1c9o9ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/248805\/original\/file-20181204-34154-1c9o9ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=658&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/248805\/original\/file-20181204-34154-1c9o9ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=658&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/248805\/original\/file-20181204-34154-1c9o9ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=658&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/248805\/original\/file-20181204-34154-1c9o9ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=827&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/248805\/original\/file-20181204-34154-1c9o9ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=827&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/248805\/original\/file-20181204-34154-1c9o9ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=827&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"658\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Federal Police showcases its air capabilities. Presidencia de la Rep\u00fablica Mexicana via Wikimedia Commons [CC BY 2.0], CC BY<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n<p>It is true that such improvements are sparse and have not yet made a notable improvement in security conditions across the country. Yet this is due to the complex nature of the criminal phenomenon, and the underwhelming commitment to institutional building by incoming politicians, who prefer flashy new policies over sticking to a plan.<\/p>\n<p>It is also true that corruption and abuse persist across police departments. But the armed forces are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2018\/feb\/10\/mexico-drug-cartels-soldiers-military\">hardly immune to corruption<\/a>. Studies have shown that the armed forces are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animalpolitico.com\/blogueros-blog-invitado\/2018\/11\/15\/ejercito-y-marina-bajo-la-lupa\/\">more prone to commit torture and human rights abuses<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.politicaygobierno.cide.edu\/index.php\/pyg\/article\/view\/1161\">more lethal<\/a> than the police. Thus, it is unlikely that militarisation itself will lead to a more effective, incorruptible police force.<\/p>\n<p>Remaking the security institutions every time a president takes power is incredibly counterproductive. Creating new institutions is costly and slow. Everything from the legislation (creating the national guard requires <a href=\"https:\/\/www.proceso.com.mx\/560409\/morena-propone-modificar-13-articulos-de-la-constitucion-para-crear-la-guardia-nacional\">13 constitutional ammendments<\/a> and a score of secondary rules) to the mundane (such as uniforms and the colours of patrol cars) must be defined and approved. This process tends to take much longer than anticipated, wasting resources at the expense of actual police work.<\/p>\n<p>A better alternative would focus on a long-term commitment to improving Mexico\u2019s fledgling civilian police agencies. Corruption is an inherent risk of all police agencies, yet there is evidence that corrupted police agencies <a href=\"http:\/\/eprints.lse.ac.uk\/68126\/1\/Newburn_literature-review%201.pdf\">can be successfully reformed<\/a>. By creating a new force, rather than solving Mexico\u2019s security crisis, L\u00f3pez Obrador will be setting the country back in its long and arduous road towards capable policing.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/107320\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: http:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/patricio-r-estevez-soto-376595\">Patricio R. Est\u00e9vez-Soto<\/a>, PhD Candidate in Security and Crime Science and Teaching Fellow in the UCL School of Public Policy, <em><a href=\"http:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/ucl-1885\">UCL<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"http:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mexico\u2019s new president, Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador (known as AMLO), was sworn in on December 1, after a five month transition period following his landslide electoral victory. Faced with an unassailable crime wave that has ravaged the country since 2007 \u2013 when then-president Felipe Calder\u00f3n (2006-2012) declared an all-out war on organised crime \u2013 L\u00f3pez&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":7263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/248743\/original\/file-20181204-34125-wuqesq.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[182],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security-public-safety"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/124"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6683"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6685,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6683\/revisions\/6685"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}