Military Policy

Mexican defense policies are generally not public information. Mexico's external security environment is peaceful. Mexico has no foreign adversaries and little ambition to impose itself upon other nations. It repudiates the use of force to settle disputes and rejects interference by one nation in the affairs of another. It sees no regional security problems justifying military alliances.

It should be noted that, since the end of the Second World War, and due to its peculiar geographical location, Mexico does not face external military threats: an armed conflict with the United States is difficult to imagine in the current context and, if it were to happen, could not be resolved by conventional military means, given the obvious asymmetry of resources. The same situation of the Northern border is presented, inversely, with the neighboring countries of the South: there is no historical disagreement or circumstantial cause on the horizon so thatstart a war with them. Unlike what happens in almost all states of South America, Mexico does not have territorial disputes in force with any of its immediate neighbors or with neighboring countries.

The traditional Mexican definition of national security has constrained the role played by the armed forces. The military is essentially passive in matters of external defense. It has been relegated to internal missions of guaranteeing domestic political stability, contributing to the antinarcotics campaign, and carrying out development-oriented civic-action programs in fulfillment of its duties as the "servant of the people." Since the end of World War II, a succession of civilian presidents has divested the military establishment of political power. The ruling civilian elite that guides national security policy focuses on maintaining social order and overcoming local uprisings.

The constitution of 1917 established the guiding principles for the armed forces and placed restrictions on their activities. Article 89 places the military under the control of the president of the republic, who, as commander in chief, is responsible for seeing that the armed forces fulfill their obligation to guarantee "internal order and external defense." The restriction on peacetime interference by military authorities in civilian affairs or other activities not "directly connected with the military discipline," set forth by Article 129, has often been abused, however, usually on the order of the president. The final constitutional provision for establishing government control of the armed forces, Article 132, places all military facilities and properties under federal jurisdiction.

A series of laws enacted in 1926 further shaped the armed forces. The most important of these, the Organic Law, gave them a threefold mission: "to defend the integrity and independence of the nation, to maintain the constitution, and to preserve internal order." The basic law subsequently has been modified to keep pace with political, economic, and social changes in the Mexican state.

Three additional laws enacted in 1926 also sought to regularize military practices. The Law of Promotions and Compensation established a pay scale for each rank and competitive examinations for promotion. The Law of Military Discipline further defined the obligations of the armed forces to society, requiring that each soldier, "in fulfillment of his duties, sacrifice all personal interests to the sovereignty of the nation, to loyalty toward its institutions, and to the honor of the National Army." The Law of Pensions and Retirements set a mandatory retirement age and provided pensions for military retirees and allowances for military dependents. Although all of these laws have been modified to meet the needs of changing times, they remain the institutional foundation of the Mexican military.