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AMLO’s Risky Bet on the Military

By Benjamin Russell

Mexico’s president is relying heavily on the armed forces to stop crime and violence, but his approach could backfire.

The first big win for Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s opposition came less than two months ago, when Mexico’s Senate approved significant changes to the president’s marquee security proposal, the creation of a new National Guard. 

Among other changes, the body was to be brought under civilian control, and the military given a 5-year time limit to get out of the policing business. “I’ll be brief: it’s a triumph for civil society” quipped one prominent activist on Twitter. 

Yet the celebratory mood...

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