#236 National Security and Armed Forces in Mexico: Challenges and Scenarios at the End of the Century

By Raúl Benitez and Stephen J. Wagner

Table of Contents

Mexican National Security at the End of the Century: Challenges and Perspectives
Raúl Benítez Manaut

The main hypothesis of this research document is that the Mexican transition to a liberal democracy and an open market economy, could create conditions to increase a major crisis in economic, social and also state structures. To deter this tendency, the state reform must be successful and has to be implemented in law enforcement, judiciary and national security institutions. The mayor challenges to the Mexican national security are the international and domestic crime (mainly drug-trafficking), the peasant and indigenous uprising in Chiapas and the citizens insecurity. The government is reinforcing the capabilities of the armed forces to confront these threats. Another aspect of Mexican national security is the new relationship with the United States, and the development of new geopolitical concepts like “North America.” In US-Mexican relations, the most important issues are the war against drugs and the reforms implemented in the Mexican economy and state institutions, and the solution of major political problems of Mexico like the Chiapas crisis. Finally, there exists different scenarios towards the year 2000, when the presidential elections will take place.

Perspectives on the Mexican Military at the Turn of the Century
Stephen Wager

Over the last three or four years, especially since the Chiapas crisis, President Ernesto Zedillo has been working hard to keep the lid on political pressures in Mexico long enough for some of his political and economic reforms to take effect. When Zedillo and his advisors made this decision, it became clear to him that to control these pressures, he had to do something about the situation in the country. Raul Benitez has focused on the many challenges to security: high rates of crime, something that existed in the past, but not to the extent that it has over the last couple of years; the growing internationalization of the drug trade with Mexico becoming a major player at least in the transhipment of drugs from the Andean countries; and the general dissident and insurgent movements which have sprung up around the country, which climaxed with the insurrection in Chiapas. All these have ultimately created a problem for political development in Mexico. In order to preserve security in the country, Zedillo looked at what resources were available. I think by default he turned to the military. There was no other institution that he could call upon (for various reasons that Raul Benitez talked about, such as the judiciary crisis). The military is the one institution that had more resources, more discipline, and more loyalty in comparison with Law Enforcement institutions which had developed a reputation for corruption.