The Inter-American Dialogue and the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) cordially invite you to the following event on militarization in Mexico:
Prior to taking office in 2018, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador pledged to transform the failed security strategy of his two predecessors, who had relied on deploying Mexico’s military in internal policing tasks. However, López Obrador has instead deepened militarization both within and beyond the realm of public security.
In September 2022, Mexico’s Congress approved the president’s proposal to make the National Guard—Mexico’s already-militarized federal police force—part of the Ministry of Defense (Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional, Sedena). As a result, federal policing tasks will now be carried out exclusively by the armed forces. In October 2022, Mexico’s Congress approved a constitutional reform to extend direct army and navy deployment in policing tasks until 2028.
During the panel, we will discuss both the efficacy and the implications of the militarization of law enforcement, which is a trend across much of the region.
Questions will include:
- What has been the impact of the militarization of public security since President Felipe Calderón turned to the military to fight crime in 2006?
- What are the impacts on democracy and human rights?
- What are the alternatives to indefinite troop employment?
Please join us for this discussion on November 10 at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Event details:
Thursday, November 10, 2022
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET
Please register by clicking here: https://www.thedialogue.org/registration-17/
Simultaneous interpretation in English and Spanish will be available on Zoom.
Opening Remarks:
Rebecca Bill Chavez
President and CEO, Inter-American Dialogue
Panelists:
Lisa Sánchez
Director, Mexico United against Crime (MUCD)
Santiago Aguirre
Director, Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center (Center Prodh)
Sara Velázquez
Investigator, Drug Policy Program, Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE)
Moderator:
Stephanie Brewer
Director for Mexico, Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)