ABSTRACT
In early August 2011, Amnesty International expressed concern that Mexico might become a dictatorship like those in the Southern Cone in the 1970s and 1980s. A spokesman for the organization downplayed the possibility of a coup d’état but warned that the quest for order might lead citizens to become more tolerant of repression and, he added, “paradoxically the army had intensified the insecurity.” In an attempt to cope with the horrors meted out by Los Zetas, various states and large cities have recruited ex-members of the armed forces to fill traditional civilian posts in law enforcement. Upon taking office, retired generals, colonels, or captains often encounter law-enforcement personnel who are afraid to challenge the narcos. Military men have clashed with local police, especially when they attempted to cleanse their ranks. Alexandro Poiré Romero, technical secretary of the National Security Council, denied any trend toward militarizing the country.
