Mexico continues to rely on a militarized approach to public security, a strategy widely criticized for its counterproductive results in the past two decades, while neglecting alternative models that have proven to be promising, according to a new report.
THE report Assesses the consequences of militarization, which puts the armed forces’ on the front line of public security tasks. The model gained ground in Mexico from 2006 under President Felipe Calderón as part of his so-called war against drugs.
Since then, military deployments have increased from 43,425 soldiers in 2007 to 100,226 in November 2024, according to the report, published at the end of June by the Universidad Iberoamericana. This year, military spending reach registration levels After an increase of 39%. On June 5, 2025, President Claudia Sheinbaum Introduce a proposal At the Congress, as well as eight legal reforms, to further extend the powers of the armed forces through the National Guard, which was initially designed in 2019 as a civil institution.
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But this constant embrace of a military approach promises to improve with the country’s violence indicators. A slight decrease in the homicide rate was compensated by 15% increase In forced disappearances during the first half of 2025 compared to the same period the previous year.
High levels of extortion and other crimes related to organized crime also indicate a generalized climate of criminal impunity. “We found … a 92.9%sub-declaration rate, which questions the accuracy or treatment of (official) figures,” said Karime Aguilar, co-author of the report, in an interview with Insight Crime.
The militarization thrust is largely fueled by high levels of public confidence in the armed forces – more than 80% in the case of the main military branches.
“The security policy continues to follow a centralized and descending logic which ignores local realities and promotes the impact of the media on the fight against real engines of violence,” added Aguilar.
Alternative public policies
The poor results of a militarized approach underline the need to rethink the concept of public security and take lessons from successful alternatives which prioritize civil leadership and the participation of citizens, and strengthen key institutions to combat impunity.
The systematic expansion of the armed forces in security roles has weakened civil institutions and democratic surveillance mechanisms, leading to arbitrary, rights violations and persistent impunity.
The role of soldiers in public security should be limited to exceptional support for the civil police, according to experts who have contributed to the report. But a new security model would also require other elements, such as community engagement and preventive strategies.
In Nezahualcóyotl, a municipality near Mexico City, A citizen security approach Launched in 2012 reduced both perceived insecurity and the homicide rate, who fell only 11.2% in 2024 – well below the national average. The model has introduced a “local police” strategy in which 10,000 neighborhood networks work with the local police to identify security challenges and propose prevention measures.
In Morelia, Michoacán, where a similar approach strengthened the role of the municipal police, homicides dropped by 37% between 2022 and 2024, According to official sources.
Despite the success of these alternative models, the authorities often remain stuck in their ways.
“There is resistance to learning – good security practices are not studied or reproduced,” said Aguilar.
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Mexico’s safety strategies also failed to spread impunity. In addition to the high levels of sub-declaration, the investigation capacity of the police remains low. In 2022, only 16% of criminal surveys were resolved.
The results indicate the need to reform key institutions such as the prosecutor’s office, which has faced repeated allegations of corruption, collusion with organized crime and negligence.
“We are no longer talking about isolated cases or individual reprehensible acts – it is a structural phenomenon which forces us to rethink all the institutional architecture of the country,” said Aguilar.
Featured image: Mexican solidrs line up, carrying their weapons. Fernando LLANO / AP.
