| Summary: | In recent decades, pressures associated with changes in illicit drug markets, failed attempts to reform security and justice apparatuses, and the absence of civil leadership have resulted in a progressive and sustained trend towards militarization. During the six-year term of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), militarization not only gained particular strength but also stemmed from specific decisions made by the president that contributed to jeopardizing the future of democratic governance in Mexico. This article examines some of AMLO’s key decisions regarding the armed forces, with a special focus on the integration of the National Guard. The central argument is that, in the short and medium term, the cumulative effect of these decisions has altered the patterns and norms that have governed the relationships between politicians and soldiers for decades, thereby disturbing the balance between civil and military institutions. In the long term, in addition to compromising the institutional strength of the armed forces, it has raised doubts about the possibility of establishing effective democratic control over the military in Mexico.
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