Mexico president changes tack in bid to put National Guard under Army

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26/08/2022 17:39

MEXICO CITY, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Mexico's President Andres
Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday switched his strategy to put the
military in charge of the National Guard to crack down on
violence fueled by organized crime.
    Noting he did not have the votes for a two-thirds majority
in Congress needed for constitutional changes, he said he would
on Sept. 1 submit a fast-tracked bill to make the National Guard
a branch of the Army. This would require only a simple majority
to achieve his goal. 
    "I cannot sit with my arms folded," he told a regular news
conference, saying he was proposing the law so it could be
agreed quickly in order to strengthen public security.
    He said he hoped the body, formed in 2019 to replace the
Mexico's Federal Police, whose reputation had been tarnished by
years of allegations of abuses and corruption, would benefit
from the experience and resources of the armed forces.
    Critics of his National Guard plan are concerned about the
degree to which Lopez Obrador has empowered the Army, giving it
responsibilities extending well beyond security matters, such as
overseeing civil infrastructure projects and customs checks.
    Lopez Obrador said if adversaries wanted to challenge the
new bill, they could take it to the Supreme Court.

 (Reporting by Sarah Morland; Editing by David Gregorio)
 ((sarah.morland@thomsonreuters.com;))