This militarized public security model has negatively impacted Mexico’s criminal justice system. The civilian justice system faces challenges (including military authorities’ actions resulting in the obstruction or delay of investigations) which limit civilian authorities’ ability to sanction soldiers implicated in crimes and human rights violations.
(Agencia Reforma, 2023)
MILI
TARY
ABUSES
Pablo Constantino Manrique - A01614042 - 202
Suarez and Meyer, 2017, parr . 3, 4)
(Human Rights Watch, 2023, parr . 13, 14)
The militarization of public security in Mexico has had at least three grave consequences: violence has increased in the country while human rights violations persist, the urgency and pressure to pass reforms to strengthen the civilian police force has decreased, and accountability has been virtually nonexistent. Soldiers who commit crimes and human rights violations, public officials who request the deployment of soldiers into states or municipalities, and politicians who have failed to undertake serious efforts to improve the civilian police force in Mexico are rarely held accountable.
Soldiers and marines have been deployed for law enforcement and to fight organized crime for decades, leading to widespread human rights violations. From 2007 through September 2022, the army killed 5,335 civilians, according to government data. Since 2018, the number of human rights commission complaints against the Army and National Guard has steadily increased. In 2021, the commission received 940 such complaints, the highest number in eight years.
President López Obrador has greatly expanded the budget, autonomy, and responsibilities of the armed forces, deploying them for hundreds of tasks traditionally conducted by civilian authorities, such as law enforcement, customs enforcement, controlling irregular immigration, running social programs, and administering public works projects. The military can legally detain civilians, take charge of crime scenes, and preserve evidence. Charging the military with these tasks has in the past contributed to human rights abuses.
(Monteagudo y Vales, 2023, parr. 1, 5, 6)
MILITARIZATION
Monteagudo y Vales (2023) Abuso de autoridad, Recovered from: https://monteagudoyvales.com/abuso-autoridad/
Human Rights Watch (2023) Mexico events of 2022, Recovered from: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2023/country-chapters/mexico
Suarez and Meyer (2017 ) Recovered from: https://www.wola.org/analysis/wola-report-overlooking-justice-human-rights-violations-committed-soldiers-civilians-met-impu nity/
Agencia Reforma (2023) México: Las quejas contra el Ejército por abusos aumentaron de 2020 a 2022, Recovered from: https://www.dallasnews.com/espanol/al-dia/mexico/2023/06/09/ejercito-abusos-quejas-aumentan-mexico-militares-militarizacion/#:~:text=Ciudad%20de%20México%20—%20Las%20quejas,la%20Defensa%20Nacional%20(Sedena).
COMPLAINTS
VIOLATIONS
The military criminal code establishes that a member of the military commits abuse when:
1. He causes serious injury to a subordinate, forces him to perform services unrelated to the service and arbitrarily prevents the exercise of a right.
2. Mistreatment of work, any physical aggression against a subordinate.
3. Degrading treatment and acts of aggression or sexual abuse.
social problem in Mexico
Military Abuses
