Military of Mexico
Encyclopedia : M : MI : MIL : Military of Mexico
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The Mexican military forces are composed of the Mexican Army (which includes the Mexican Air Force as a subordinate entity) and the Mexican Navy.
Organization
The Army
There are three main components of the Army: a national headquarters, territorial commands, and independent units. The Minister of Defense commands the Army by means of a very centralized system and a large number of general officers. The Army uses a modified continental staff system in its headquarters.
At present there are 12 Military Regions, which are further broken down into 44 subordinate Military Zones. In both cases, a numbering system is used for designation. There is no set number of zones within a region, and these can therefore be tailored to meet operational needs, with a corresponding increase or decrease in troop strength.
The Air Force
- See also full article, Mexican Air Force.
The Navy
The Ministry of the Navy, the Navy’s national headquarters, is located in the southern part of the Mexico City, and is smaller than the Army’s HQ. The “Junta (or Council) of Admirals” plays a unique consultative and advisory role within the headquarters, an indication of the institutional importance placed on seniority and “year groups” that go back to the admirals’ days as cadets in the naval college. They are a very tightly knit group, and great importance is placed on consultation among the factions within these year groups.
The Navy’s operational forces are organized as two independent groups: the Gulf (East) Force and the Pacific (West) Force. Each group has its own headquarters, a destroyer group, an auxiliary vessel group, a Marine Infantry Group, and a Special Forces group. The Gulf and Pacific Forces are not mirror images of each other, as independence of organization is permitted. Both are subdivided into regions, with Regions 1, 3, and 5 on the Gulf, and 2, 4, and 6 on the Pacific. Each region is further divided into sectors and zones, so a proliferation of headquarters and senior officers exists. The Navy also has an air arm with troop transport, reconnaissance, and surveillance aircraft.
Recently the Navy has ceded most of its riverine responsibilities (formally handled by the Marines) to the Army, and has reduced the size of the Marine force, putting them back aboard ships where they play a vital role in drug interdiction and boarding of suspect vessels in territorial waters.
The Navy maintains significant infrastructure, including naval dockyards that have the capability of building ships, such as the Holzinger class gunboats. These dockyards have a significant employment and economic impact in the country.
Independent forces
Several other military organizations exist that are independent of the Army and Navy command structures.Chief among the independent troops is an Army Corps consisting of two mechanized infantry brigades located in Mexico City, with a full complement of combat and support troops. In addition, there are two brigades of the Corps of Military Police, Special Forces units, Presidential Guards (another motorized brigade) and a parachute brigade—all located in Mexico City where they act as a ready reserve and as centers of excellence.
Leadership
The two components of the Mexican military do not come under a single unified commander at any level below the President, as there is no Minister of Defense. Instead, a Minister who is a serving officer—a four-star general in the case of the Army and an Admiral in the case of the Navy—heads each of the component parts. Each minister serves in a dual capacity: as a full cabinet member reporting to the President, and as the operational commander of his force.
The ministers are handpicked by the President, and may or may not serve in that position for the entire 6-year term (sexenio) of the incumbent president. During the single-party rule of the PRI, the selection of ministers was generally a pro-forma exercise, with strict attention being paid to seniority. In the past two sexenios, however, both Presidents Ernesto Zedillo (1994–2000) and Vicente Fox (2000-2006) strayed from the norm and reached down into more junior levels to select what some have described as “more progressive” officers to lead the forces.
Although there is a defacto Air Force commander, he and his staff are embedded in the Army headquarters, and an Air Force officer never has risen to the most trusted senior positions within the hierarchy. This subordination has allowed the Army to use the term “National Defense” (SEDENA) for its organizational structure, and General Vega García and his predecessors have held the title of Minister of Defense (much to the annoyance of the Navy).
Both the Army and Navy are organized on a regional dispersion basis. There are centralized national headquarters in Mexico City and many subordinate regional headquarters. Historically, this has proven to be effective, as the military’s main employment has been on domestic missions. Troops are stationed throughout the country to serve as an ongoing presence of authority and to allow for immediate response to crises. This regional dispersion also has facilitated programs of local recruitment for noncommissioned members, allowing them to stay near their families during their service, an important cultural consideration. Officers, on the other hand, are expected to be more mobile, moving between remote posts and to the center in Mexico City with great frequency. This provides experience and, from an historical context, prevents any senior officer from staying too long in one location, developing local allegiances and potentially becoming too powerful.
Size and Scope
Compared to most Latin American armies, the Mexican Army is one of the smallest by its numbers and its budget. In 1989, it was 0.4% of the Gross Internal Product. In 1999, Mexico's military budget had swelled to 1% of GDP, at $4 billion U.S. dollars. Recently the budget has been expanded to accommodate the counterdrug operations, and currently has annual expenditures of $6.043 billion (2004).According to the CIA World Factbook, Mexico's available manpower for military service numbers 24,488,008 (males age 18-49: 2005 est.), with 19,058,337 males fit for military service, and 1,063,233 males reaching military service age annually. Since 2000, females have been allowed to volunteer for military service. Mexico's armed forces currently number about 300,000.
Mexico's military is divided into two branches, the National Defense Secretariat (includes Army and Air Force) and the Navy Secretariat (includes Naval Air and Marines).
Mission
The Mexican Army works around three preparedness missions, or plans:
- DN1: Preparation of the military forces to repel external aggressions. No military armed force can leave Mexican territory without a declaration of war, and approval of the Congress. The last time this was invoked was in 1942, to send an expeditionary force to the Philippines, after war was declared against Germany and Japan, following the sinking of two Mexican ships by U-boats. In 1990 President Carlos Salinas de Gortari asked the permission of the Congress to send troops to the Gulf War, but it was refused, since there was no declaration of war against Iraq.
- DN2: Preparation of the military forces to protect the internal security of the country. This would include police actions against guerrilla forces, counterdrug operations, and, originally, political control. Up to 1970, the Mexican Army had been used as a repressive force to maintain the virtual dictatorship of the single-party PRI government. The most controversial use of the military had been called "The dirty war" against communism in the 1960s, which included the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre of students and unexpecting bystanders. After 1980 these types of operations had nearly completely ceased (see EZLN).
- DN3: Defense against natural disasters. The Army should always be ready to help the civil population in case of disaster. This include preventive measures. For example, between August and November, military forces are sent to Mexican coastal areas to aid the public in the event of hurricanes or floods. For the Mexican people, the DN3 plan is the most important operation of the Army. The Army provides food, shelter, medicine, and medical services to the people that need them. This also includes recontruction of roads and communication services. A point of controversy is why the Army did not apply the DN3 plan after the 1985 Mexico City earthquake that left large areas of Mexico City in ruins. This was due mainly to political reasons, but demonstrates how the Mexican army is subject to civil powers.
Conscription
The lottery
Each year, the Mexican military recruiters require all Mexican males that reached the age of 18 in the previous 12 months to appear at a designated military recruitment center in their local municipality. A lottery is held to determine randomly who will be assigned either Army service, Navy service, or be excused from service completely.The lottery formerly took the form, for example, of all men in attendance standing at attention for hours while each man's name is called, during which a child pulled a ball out of a bag- the color of which will determine each conscriptee's fate. Nowadays the selection is made by a computer program, but the results are still being called as usual: White ball (Army service attendance), Black ball (no service attendance) or Blue ball (navy-marines service attendance).
The Cartilla
A document called Cartilla del Servicio Militar Nacional, or simply Cartilla, is produced at this event, where the result is recorded. This document is an important identification and its existence is almost always requested by private and public employers. However, this document has recently stopped to be a requirement for getting a passport and, thus, travelling internationally.Those selected attend weekend training that emphasizes education, history, physical fitness, and discipline. These recruits also act as a labor pool for a variety of public works social 13 programs, such as tree trimming, clean-up of urban areas, painting schools, etc.
Officers
Officer candidates from all three services are trained in a military college, in Mexico City for the Army, in Guadalajara for the Air Force, and in Veracruz for the Navy. Officer candidates generally are selected from the lower and middle classes, and this therefore is seen as a mechanism for upward social mobility for the less privileged and less educated sectors of the population.The military colleges are not universities, but rather provide significant technical training related to employment after graduation in the various branches of the services. Great emphasis is also placed on military ethos (patriotism, honor, and loyalty), history, discipline, physical fitness, and perpetuating the institution. The Armed Forces, although widely respected within the country, suffer from criticism over internal corruption and ineptitude.
Career soldiers
While all Mexican males are required by law to give "military service" for a period of one year, those services are civil and require only a few hours on weekends and do not imply any military training, except drills. Most Mexicans, for example, that have been recruited into the military, have never touched a gun by the time their civil service is complete. The 1986 class of the SMN Servicio Militar Nacional (National Military Service) was the last one to be oriented for social purposes. The SMN was recently restructured and the conscripts are receiving a better glimpse of a true Military education. The 1987 class (presently serving) will be the first class in many years to receive actual firearm training. The members of the Army that remain in the military after their mandatory period of service are volunteers who chose the Army as their job.Limitations
Similar to the United States Posse Comitatus Act, Article 129 of the 1917 Mexican Constitution dictates that "No military authority may, in time of peace, perform any functions other than those that are directly connected with military affairs.", but the use of the Army to replace police temporarily in some cases of corruption has been hotly debated.Similar to the Third Amendment to the United States Constitution, Article 16 of the 1917 Constitution of Mexico, "No member of the army shall in time of peace be quartered in private dwellings without the consent of the owner, nor may he impose any obligation whatsoever. In time of war the military may demand lodging, equipment, provisions, and other assistance, in the manner laid down in the respective martial law."
Military Law
Article 13 of the Mexican Constitution specifies that regarding crimes and lacks of discipline, Military Courts will execute jurisdiction only over Military personnel, so in accordance there is a Uniform Code of Military Justice, and Military Tribunals functioning under their specific law. Also, regarding laboral conditions, Article 123-B of the 1917 Mexican Constitution dictates that "Military and naval personnel and members of the public security corps, and personnel of the foreign service, shall be governed by their own laws."Secrecy
Politically, the army maintains a very low profile, while as recently as a few decades ago there were restrictions upon mentioning the Army or Army ranks in the media (TV, newspapers etc). Only in the last decade have the Mexican people became more aware of the activities of the Army.Since 1995 the military as a whole has come under much more intense public scrutiny, both domestically and internationally, and the challenges to the leadership to permit greater openness, better fiscal accountability to the public, and more productivity in pursuing new missions will no doubt persist.
The current ministers, General Vega García and Admiral Peyrot, are considered by most observers to be progressive and academic in nature and background, although they have not strayed far from the monolithic image usually associated with the Mexican military. The public does not get much insight into whatever internal debates and dialogue may be occurring within the institution, and both services continue to be responsive instead of proactive in terms of public relations.
Activities outside Mexico
United Nations peacekeeping
As of 2005, intervention in UN peacekeeping operations is being discussed, but with the current political composition of the Congress, it is unlikely to be approved, as according to the Mexican Constitution, no military armed force can leave Mexican territory without a declaration of war.
Disaster Relief
The Mexican army has travelled mainly to Central American countries to provide aid in disaster relief, and most recently after the Tsunami disaster in Indonesia (only military personnel, but no armed forces).Hurricane Katrina relief
In September 2005 Mexican army convoys traveled to the U.S. to help in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.Mexican army convoys and a navy ship laden with food, supplies and specialists traveled to the United States including military specialists, doctors, nurses and engineers carrying water treatment plants, mobile kitchens, food and blankets.
The convoy represents the first Mexican military unit to operate on U.S. soil since 1846, when Mexican troops briefly marched into Texas, which had separated from Mexico and joined the United States. There were complaints from Mexican senators because President Vicente Fox did not ask for congressional permission to send troops overseas, as required by law, but the complaints were dismissed because it was a humanitarian mission.
Equipment
Infantry light weapons
The Army makes up about three-fourths of the total military. Army soldiers are armed with license-made Heckler and Koch G3 rifles, currently being replaced by Mexican made FX-05 assault rifle.
Infantry support weapons
HK 21E 7.62 machine gun. Made under licence of Heckler & KochMK 19 grenade launcher 40 mm .
M-2 machine gun 12.7 mm .
MILAN anti-tank missiles.
B-300 82 mm light anti-tank rocket.
Blindicide 81 mm light anti-tank rocket.
106 mm Recoilless anti-tank gun over High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle.
Brandt 60 mm mortars.
M29 and M1 81 mm Mortars
Brandt 120 mm mortars.
Wheeled combat vehicles
High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle with MK 19 grenade launcher, 7.62 mm machine guns, Blindicide 81 mm light anti-tank rocket adn 106 mm Recoilless anti-tank gun. (plus 1000)Panhard ERC-90 Lynx 6x6 (119) Mexican ERC-90 are known as Lynx 90. They have a Hispano-Suiza Lynx 90 mm turret.
Panhard VBL 4x4 (40) light armoured vehicle used as antitank plataform with MILAN - anti-tank missiles and MK 19 grenade launcher 40mm.
Panhard VCR (40) APC. Armed with a 12.7 mm machine gun.
BDX APC (195) 4x4 Armed with a 7.62 mm machine gun.
Tracked combat vehicles
HW-K 11 (40) APC Made by Henschel during the 1960s. Mexico is the only owner. Armed with a 7.62 mm machine gun on turret.AMX-VCI (385) IFV APC version of AMX-13. Versions with 20 mm gun, 7.62 mm machine gun on turret and mortar carrier.
Artillery
M-101 105 mm Howitzer (80).Oto Melara 105 mm Howitzer (80).
See also
- Fuerzas Especiales
- Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales
- Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales del Alto Mando
- Mexican Air Force
- Mexican military ranks
- Military history of Mexico
- Brigada de Fusileros Paracaidistas
- Ixtoc-Alfa
- Mexican response to Hurricane Katrina
- Mexican Special Forces
- Army ranks and insignia of Mexico
External links
- ()[National Defense Secretariat].
- ()[Navy Secretariat].
- () http://www.fasoc.cl/files/articulo/ART4117e2978fedb.pdf
- ()[Unofficial Military Forum MEXICAN ARMED FORCES]
- [Photo Album of the Mexican Military from militaryphotos.net]
- [Photos/MEXICAN ARMY, NATIONAL MARINE AND AIR FORCE]
References
- http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mx.html Entry for Mexico in the CIA World Fact Book
- The Mexican Armed Forces in Transition - Jordi Díez & Ian Nicholls
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