Civil-military Relations in Mexico: From One-Party Dominance to Post-Transitional Insecurity

Abstract

While far from ideal, civil-military relations in Mexico in the second half of the twentieth century stood apart from the Latin American trend towards military government and dictatorship. Over the course of the last three decades, however, drug-trafficking, organised crime and high levels of violence and insecurity have deeply transformed this historical pattern with Mexico experiencing a clearcut process of militarization and becoming part of a broad Latin American trend. This article investigates the forces behind and the features of the remarkable political and ideological turnaround with respect to Mexico’s military and militarization. To provide proper context, it first examines the evolution of civil-military relations in Mexico during the era of PRI dominance (ca. 1945-ca. 1985) and the subsequent challenges of a democratic recasting of civil-military relations. It then studies how from the 1990s onwards drug trafficking (and its mutation into organised crime) and an escalating security crisis affected civil-military relations. The last section critically examines the unprecedented promotion of military roles and prerogatives during the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024). The conclusion argues that the shifting relations between civilians and soldiers in Mexico are likely to weaken civilian control over the military and hence risk democratic backsliding.