Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he supports abolishing the nation's army and declaring Mexico a "pacifist country."

“If were up to me, I would get rid of the army and turn it into the national guard, declare that Mexico is a pacifist country that does not need a military and that the defense of the nation, if necessary, would be done by all,” he said in an interview Monday with Mexican newspaper La Jornada according to Reuters.

López Obrador said that while he wishes he could abolish the army, he recognized it was likely politically impossible.

“I can’t do it because there is resistance. One thing is what is desirable and another thing is what is possible," López Obrador added.

Mexico's national guard contains 70,000 members with a goal by López Obrador to grow its size to 150,000. López Obrador has deployed 15,000 troops to the Mexican border to stop illegal crossings after the country came to a deal with the U.S. on illegal immigration.

He said his goal is “for human rights to be respected and for there to be a different conduct in the national guard, made up of soldiers and sailors.”

Three dozen nations do not have a standing military in favor of a national police force.