ABSTRACT
Mexico is experiencing a democratic recession, in which the armed forces are deployed because civilian government institutions responsible for public security are weak. The military enjoyed autonomy of action, silently oversaw the conduct of the state, and defended it when it faced significant challenges to its stability, such as in Mexico City in 1968, combating the guerrilla groups in the 1970s, and the Zapatista uprising of 1994. This program transformed the mission of the armed forces, giving priority to the struggle against organized crime, but it has not stopped its growth, nor has it controlled the flow of illicit arms from the United States into Mexico. In 2014, the president of Mexico announced the military's participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations. Yet, despite devoting 100 percent of the military's forces to guarantee Mexico's internal security, the situation has become progressively worse, and the action of criminal organizations has strengthened between 2019 and 2020.
