Army

The following material on the Mexican armed forces is included on this Website for general information and because, due to the military’s increased participation in anti-narcotics operations, there has been a corresponding heightened military presence in the municipality of San Miguel. A variety of sources, all taken from the Internet, have been used in the preparation of this article.

The Mexican military consists of a Secretariat of National Defense (Secretaria de Defensa Nacional, SEDENA) under which the Army (Ejercito) including the Mexican Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Mexicana, FAM)) function, and a Secretariat of the Navy (Secretaria de Marina, SEMAR under which the Mexican Navy (Armada de Mexico, ARM, including the Naval Air Force (FAN) and the naval infantry function.
 
Military service is compulsory for all males. Beginning at 18 years of age all males must register for military service and remain registered (eligible for call-up) for one year; actual induction into service is made via lottery and a conscript’s obligation is12 months. There are a variety of different service options. Sixteen-year-olds, can enlist with parental consent. Conscripts serve only in the Army. The Navy and the Air Force are both all-volunteer forces. Women are eligible for voluntary military service.
 
According to the CIA’s World Fact Book, in 2006, Mexico was estimated to spend 0.5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on its military.
 
It is difficult to obtain up-to-date and accurate strength of forces statistics, but the following data, will give a rough idea of the army’s strength and organization. The army consists of 130,000 personnel; 36 zonal garrisons comprising one armored cavalry, one mechanized infantry, 19 motor cavalry and three artillery battalions. There is also a mobile reserve force of three infantry brigades, one armored brigade, plus a 4,000-man rapid deployment brigade of one assault battalion and two MP battalions, reportedly developed to protect the southern border and oil fields. In addition, some 1,500 troops are assigned to the air force, plus engineer/support units.

The Air Force consists of: 8,000 personnel, including a 1,500 man airborne brigade. There are approximately 100 combat aircraft, including 25 armed helicopters, a squadron of 11 F-5 and F-5E fighters, plus a mix of reconnaissance, transport, training and utility aircraft. The air force also flies the presidential fleet of nine Boeing jets. 

The Mexican president is commander in chief and appoints the heads of the armed forces. Both the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Navy have cabinet rank and are in the operational chain of command.
   
Under the constitution of 1917, the armed forces have responsibility for defending the sovereignty and independence of the nation, maintaining the constitution and its laws, and preserving internal order. Mexico's principal national security concerns since 1910 have been to preserve domestic political stability and to prevent foreign economic domination.
 
The Mexican military is primarily organized to meet challenges to internal order and the existing political system. For the most part, the military has been reluctant to become involved in law enforcement; the armed forces prefer to give the responsibility of preventing violence to federal and state police authorities, except when faced with a large-scale breakdown of civil order. Troops are not always fully equipped or trained to deal directly with protesters and the military seems inclined to register its influence more as a presence than an active force.
 
In the half-century following World War II, the Mexican armed forces have never been called upon to exercise an external defense role. 

Their internal security role is a different story and, in that regard, two military actions are of historical significance. 

1)–In October 1968, just before the Olympics Games were to be held in Mexico City, the military was called out to put down massive student-led protests associated with strongly felt economic grievances. The army suppressed the demonstrations by opening fire on thousands of demonstrators at Tlatelolco, in northern Mexico City. Hundreds of young demonstrators were killed or wounded; the army was severely criticized and its actions at Tlatelolco have had a lasting effect on the public's perception of the military.

2)–In January 1994, an uprising in the state of Chiapas by a previously unknown guerrilla group, the Zapatista National Liberation Army (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional--EZLN), necessitated major troop deployments. Both army and air force units were sent into Chiapas and, after widespread skirmishes in which several hundred persons were reportedly killed, the military was able to regain control. With the exception of the army's use in anti-narcotics operations, Chiapas has been the only outbreak in recent years that has necessitated major troop deployments.

The military's primary mission has been to deter and prevent violence threatening public order, including outbreaks arising from strikes and protests, rural political grievances, guerrilla insurgency, urban terrorism and urban and rural drug related terrorism. When conducting anti-narcotics operations the military is under no obligation to alert state, city or local police officials of pending operations and it is empowered to conduct searches and other activities on private property on its sole authority without a search warrant.

Since the 1920s, the military has devoted a considerable share of its resources to civic action programs to improve socioeconomic conditions, particularly in rural areas that otherwise have little contact with government representatives. The army has often been called upon to respond to natural disasters, its responsibilities set forth in a plan known as National Defense III (Defensa Nacional III--DN III), and to coordinate the work of other agencies during the course of the emergency.
 
The army assigns large numbers of personnel to the anti-narcotics campaign, carrying out crop eradication as well as conducting and supporting interdiction missions. The navy is responsible for maritime drug interdiction, and the ground-based radar system of the air force supports air interdiction efforts.

Under the Mexican code for federal elections, the army has a limited but important part in the administration of elections, monitoring polling stations and protecting ballot boxes on Election Day. As part of its domestic security functions, the army is also responsible for protecting strategic economic installations such as electric power plants, oil fields, petroleum complexes, ports, and airports.
 
Along with protection of Mexico's fisheries and detection of vessels transporting contraband, the Mexican navy is charged with the defense of offshore oil installations and other maritime resources. The campaign against drug smuggling has placed an increasing burden on the navy's resources.
 
The increased involvement of the military in battling drug traffickers, as ordered by President Felipe Calderón upon taking office in December 2006, has been criticized on humanitarian grounds. The critics claim that the armed forces are not sufficiently trained for their mission and that there have been numerous civil rights abuses. The enhanced role of the military in anti-narcotics operations was never intended to be permanent, but alternatives appear few and far between. President Calderón has acknowledge the nationwide need to cleanse and strengthen non-military law enforcement agencies and the administration of justice so that the use of Mexico's armed forces in the fight against narcotics traffickers and crime can be cut back. Various alternatives to the military's heavy involvement in anti-narcotics operations are under consideration, including the creation of units, not unlike the National Guard units that operate in the United States.

Speaking about the military’s involvement in the drug wars in April 2011, President Calderón defended the participation of the Army and Navy in the fight. He said that the fundamental task of the Mexican Army and Navy was to secure the country’s safety by combating and containing criminals and he accepted that, until local governments can field more professional police forces than they do today, the military will need to take the lead in the conflict. But, Calderon reiterated his hope that the military’s leadership will not be permanent and said that the day when all 31 Mexican states have “professional, honest, capable and trustworthy police forces,” is the day that the nation will have taken an important step toward establishing a safe country with soldiers and marines returned to their normal daily tasks.