From its inception, the National Guard has been diluting the civil character awarded to it by the constitutional reform that created it. As of today, three out of four of its elements come from the Armed Forces and its commands follow a similar pattern of military preponderance. In addition, its leader is a retired military officer. The National Guard’s formation is predominantly military and its operations are attached to Sedena.

Until now, the deployment of the Armed Forces in public security activities had been presented as a temporary measure with a precise date for its completion. And although the National Guard is in fact a militarized body, the formal elimination of the civil character established in the Constitution would mean a point of no return in the militarization process, a dangerous surrendering of civil power to military power, inadmissible in a country that claims to be democratic.

If we compound to this the enormous and unjustified diversity of tasks of civilian nature that have been entrusted to the Armed Forces –including the million-dollar concession for construction and administration of public works—we will find ourselves witnessing the disruption of the civilian-military relationship of which the country has been repeatedly warned.

The facts show that the militarization of public safety, with its strategy of territorial occupation, has not translated into a reduction in violence. On the contrary, it increases the risk of human rights violations and the occurrence of crimes.