Antonio Navalón
The night of October 4 and the dawn of October 5 made people believe that the six-year term of President López Obrador had come to an end and that the new government, led by the Mexican Armed Forces, was entering to dispose of, order, and comply with the constitutional mandate and perform the different duties entrusted to them by the Constitution. It was a mind-blowing night. It was as if a bad government had expired in time, and a new government emerged unexpectedly. It was as if a well-organized army with a plan not limited to the slogan of “hugs, not bullets” came through and took over the reins of government. From that moment on, it was as if a new era had begun in Mexico.
As of October 5, we ceased to be the country that inspired Salvador Dalí’s controversial phrase when he said that he could not stand being in a country more surreal than his paintings, and we became a great nation capable of changing everything overnight. A country with the same faces, failures, and situations can ask for an opportunity – without knowing why or what for – to acquire more power to those whose, theoretically their function is to protect us against any threat.
I have nothing against the military. I believe they are a fundamental piece not only of Mexican culture and society but also of the legal and sociological framework of the people. In addition to this, it is necessary to mention that the Mexican army has always been an institution respected by Mexicans. Moreover, for many years it has been the only alternative capable of producing a change in the social situation with a promising future and the necessary tools to ensure its development. Since we are the way we are and what matters most is what the leader in office thinks and dictates, we went from having a policy of forgiveness and national harmony to seeking to place the military as a fundamental piece of development.
We have gone from witnessing how the Mexican Armed Forces were not capable of winning a dirty war – such as the one that took place during Felipe Calderon’s six-year term and for which they were not prepared – to positioning them as elements that know and can do everything. After what happened last week, today we have an image of an army capable of using weapons and controlling airports, participating in federal constructions, and even having its own airline and being an actor in the commercial aeronautical sector. If we continue on this path, there is a possibility that the valet parking will soon end up being in uniform.
We are facing a fundamental transformation of roles and responsibilities. I do not even want to think what is going through the heads of the professors of the Heroic Military College or what the students are thinking, who enter dreaming of being generals in the army and who seek to dedicate themselves to military functions. Still, there is a possibility that they will end up being in charge of customs posts. After what has happened, it seems that the army is being deprived of its capacity to win the wars for which it was created and is being molded to the civilian needs that require it. These needs range from the aeronautical sector to the civil construction sector or any challenge that is part of the President’s unredeemed dreams to change Mexico’s history.
What exactly was approved on the night of October 4? That the Mexican Army would be in charge of all security – public and military – until 2028. This means that the next presidential election in 2024 will not only be under the ever-constitutional and orderly – so far – watch of the army but also have to make that run with a portion of the economy and civilian security in its hands. But, more importantly, it will do so with the full backing and confidence of the President, the Commander-in-Chief.
Beyond what the armies were supposed to serve for, beyond seeing them standing idly by while the outbreak of violence and the kind of civil war we are in is becoming more and more notorious, this decision implies that what is being sought is not national security. It seems that those who govern the country seek to give the country’s Armed Forces the tools and the necessary experience to direct and control everything that the nation – or the ideas of the leader in office – demands.
We have transformed the military uniform into a multipurpose one. We forget how and what they are made for and ask them to serve for everything without having someone in charge to win the wars that are increasingly visible in our territory. This is a revolution similar to the one that took place when the Mexican State was constituted, the Mexican Revolution of 1910. The difference is that today the Mexican army is not winning the war. Furthermore, it should not be forgotten that one of the most relevant problems the current regime has faced was when the decision was made to incorporate the functions of the Federal Police and incorporate them into what we know today as the National Guard. An institution becoming more and more relevant in the daily life of the country, and we do not know to what extent it will be determinant in the decisions and the direction we have and will have as a nation.
We will give the power of the streets to the army until 2028. We do not know, nor have they announced the programs they will do. We do not know what will happen the day when – when the war is won, sovereignty is restored, and when it is possible to guarantee the security of the citizens in our country – normality returns, and we have to figure out how to restore the extraordinary responsibilities and functions that today are being given to the Armed Forces. We limit ourselves to determining that they will have all the power until 2028 without having clear and defined obligations.
I am astonished, surprised, and shocked to see that we can make a vote where the epic is in charge of the Secretary of the Interior and the President of the Senate, without explaining why or for what purpose but, above all, without determining a comprehensive national security program. A program with responsible people that, beyond avoiding justifying that the violence figures are the ones they are because of the past and the fact of having received a country in flames, truly seeks to protect and promote the tranquility and peace of Mexican citizens. When will a complete security policy be applied to the current social fire and give the explanations that today are not given about the functions of the army?
Live to believe. And without faith, as the Bible says, there is nothing. But the problem is that when one sees such potentially dangerous situations as the recent hacking of the Ministry of Defense’s (SEDENA) servers or the growing power of drug trafficking in the country, the question inevitably arises as to who will protect us from the current and future threats that may arise. We want to believe, but there is no support or motivation to help us do so. We are in a position where every day that passes, we have less time and less patience, and where we run a risk that increases substantially.
If the Mexican army loses this war, it will also be lost by the Mexican State, which will mean its end. No matter how many guns they have and no matter how much power they are constitutionally granted, it amazes me that the military does not have the minimum survival instinct to take care of themselves and not accept everything that is offered to them but to take what they are in a position to deliver. Moreover, so much power given in such a short time and so many areas gives rise – in the best of cases – to simple or operational mistakes. However, in other cases, there is the possibility of irreversible mistakes being made. We have entered another era and that era, today, has an armed base. Let’s hope it has a good ending.
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