Photo @ Animal Politico

On November 15th, with a vote of nine ministers in favor and one against, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN in its Spanish acronym) rejected as unconstitutional the Internal Security Law (LSI in its Spanish acronym) in force since December 21st, 2017.

The law, which sought to regulate the participation of the armed forces in tasks of security and combating crime at the national level, was approved by the previous Congress with the support of the government of Enrique Peña Nieto.

During the vote, the nine ministers of the SCJN who spoke in favor of the invalidation did so with different arguments.

Minister Fernando Franco said that, “the Internal Security Law establishes a link with the National Security Law, as if it were one more on this issue, in addition to providing for some public safety activities. (…) The law was issued with the title of Internal Security, which means that the Congress of the Union does not have express powers to legislate, nor can this competence be upheld by National Security.”

Minister Luna considered that “the LSI is unconstitutional due to irregularities in the process of formulation and approval in Congress, which was done hastily such that some deputies and senators could not even know the ruling to analyze it.”

Regarding this issue, according to the BBC, President-elect Lopez Obrador mentioned several times during his election campaign that if he won the race, he would withdraw the military from the public security tasks they carry out. He reneged on this when elected togovernment, recognizing that “the truth is there is a lot of rot in the policing bodies.”

The “National Plan for Peace and Security 2018-2024” of the president-elect has as its main proposal the creation of a National Guard, which would be composed of between 120 and 200 thousand members. The first 50 thousand are expected to be in operation in 2021, and would be formed by units of the military, naval and federal police. Then, by the military of the Army and the Navy, and finally by the convocation that seeks the integration of up to 50 thousand young people. For its equipment, deployment and operation, it will have its own budget, as do the Army, the Air Force and the Navy.

As soon as this plan was presented, it began to be questioned by different human rights organizations. For example, Amnesty International considered that Lopez Obrador’s plan is “worrying”, as it “essentially repeats the failed militarized security model”, which has allowed serious human rights violations to be committed at the hands of the armed forces.

For more information in Spanish:

ONU-DH pide el retiro completo de las Fuerzas Armadas de seguridad pública (Proceso, 16 de noviembre de 2018)

La Suprema Corte declara inconstitucional la Ley de Seguridad Interior (Proceso, 15 de noviembre de 2018)

Corte invalida Ley de Seguridad por el riesgo que implica convertir a militares en policías (Animal Político, 15 de noviembre de 2018)

Plan de AMLO contradice recomendaciones internacionales para México de retirar el Ejército y fortalecer la policía civil (Animal Político, 15 de noviembre de 2018)

Presidencia de AMLO en México: 5 puntos clave del Plan Nacional de Paz y Seguridad de López Obrador para combatir la violencia y pacificar el país (BBC, 15 de noviembre de 2018)

Organizaciones de DH celebran anulación de LSI (La Jornada, 15 de noviembre de 2018)

Sedena, pilar de la estrategia de seguridad de Lopez Obrador (Proceso, 14 de noviembre de 2018)

For more information from SIPAZ:

National: CNDH Asks SCJN to Declare Interior Security Law Unconstitutional (November 7th, 2018)

National: Reactions to Minister for Supreme Court’s Proposal on Interior Security Law

(November 7th, 2018)

National: AMLO “The Army and the Navy will continue on the streets in internal public security tasks” (September 15, 2018)

National: Two Judges Declare Interior Security Law Unconstitutional (May 24th, 2018)

Chiapas: Organizations injunction on Interior Security Law (April 2nd, 2018)

National: EPN Enacts Interior Security Law. CNDH Declares it Unconstitutional

(January 14th, 2018)

Nacional: Senado aprueba Ley de seguridad interior (December 16th, 2017)

Nacional: Ante rechazo a la Ley de Seguridad Interior, EPN pide ampliar “los espacios de diálogo y acercamiento con las distintas organizaciones de la sociedad civil” (December 11th, 2017)

National: Interior Security Law Passed amidst Protests (December 7th, 2017)