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Mexico’s Supreme Court upholds reform allowing military to perform police duties

A constitutional reform allowing the Mexican military to remain on the country’s streets for an additional four years will move forward after Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled against an appeal to the change.

By an eight to three vote, the court upheld the constitutional reform that will allow Mexican soldiers and marines to tackle domestic security issues through 2028.

For years, Mexico has turned to the military to address drug cartel violence. And President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has supported extending the military’s public safety role — as well as expanding its duties into other areas, including construction projects and immigration enforcement.

Opponents say that increased reliance on the military has ramped up violence and human rights abuses, and has decreased the effectiveness of civilian police. Similar concerns have surfaced over another reform that gives the military controlover the National Guard.

Kendal Blust was a senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2018 to 2023.