Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Monday, March 29, 2010

Loss of faith?

The Mexican army is one of the most trusted institutions in the country. (See Trust in Mexican institutions.)

But it's actions and seeming ineffectiveness threaten that position of trust. What will the government and the citizens do next?

Mexico military faces political risks over drug war

When Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared war on drug cartels in 2006, he summoned his military to serve as the tip of the spear.

Since then, nearly 50,000 uniformed Mexican military personnel have manned roadblocks, patrolled cities haunted by drug killings and raided houses in search of traffickers and contraband.

But as doubts mount over the effectiveness of Calderon's anti-drug crusade, with its death toll of 18,000 people, so do the political risks for Mexico's military, traditionally one of the nation's most trusted institutions…

The Mexican army is increasingly a lightning rod for those who say the Calderon strategy has failed to curb a skyrocketing death toll. Human rights advocates accuse soldiers of abusing residents as they hunt drug traffickers. And there is a growing feeling that, despite the army's firepower and resources, it has been less than effective as a police force.

Street demonstrations against runaway violence in the border city of Ciudad Juarez aimed more vitriol at troops than at drug-trafficking gangs, and many residents say they would like to see soldiers called back to the barracks. As the military's presence has grown along the U.S.-Mexico border, many residents ask whether it will prove as susceptible to corruption as the police have been…

The drug war has boosted the military budget and created an opportunity for the armed forces to gain clout.

"If they win, they will be stronger politically," said Raul Benitez, a specialist in national security at the National Autonomous University in Mexico City. "They think they will win."

Yet the deaths related to drug traffickers and the government's failure to land a decisive blow against the cartels has many Mexicans questioning the effectiveness of the military-led strategy. And military leaders, who have never appeared eager to join the drug war, are concerned that they could end up bearing the blame, analysts say…