Mexico City, Mexico — President Andrés Manuel López Obrador participated in a ceremony to mark the four-year anniversary of the creation of the country’s National Guard where he said they will belong to the Ministry of Defense.
He said that the institution has established itself as one of the most important in the country by guaranteeing security, peace and tranquility among the people of Mexico.
In four years of work, it has the accreditation of Mexicans since 77 percent trust the corporation, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), he said.
“That is why the government that I represent will continue to support you so that you have your fair wages, your benefits, all the protection for you and your families (…) the National Guard is to protect all Mexicans in an authentic democracy, in a government of the people,” he said.
As part of the National Public Security Strategy, AMLO mentioned that violence and insecurity are addressed from a vision of social justice.
“Keep all this in mind when you are in service and in the line of duty, keep in mind that we are not only facing the problem of insecurity and the scourge of violence with coercive measures, we are facing job opportunities for young people, we are facing scholarships for students from humble families. (…) We are going to continue advancing and serenading our country,” he explained during the ceremony.
The four-year anniversary ceremony was held at the Marte Military Camp in Mexico City. Mexico’s National Guard has 128,000 members with 295 barracks distributed throughout the country through 266 territorial coordinations.
“The security forces are not concentrated in the big cities, but rather they are present where they are needed, where the people who need the protection and support of the National Guard live,” he said.
AMLO said that next year, the institution will have more than 160,000 elements formed from discipline and professionalism and 657 facilities equipped and enabled for the benefit of its work.
Before members of the institution, the President reiterated his intention to send a new bill to the Legislative Branch to push for the National Guard to belong to the Ministry of National Defense in order to protect it from corruption, as happened with the Federal Police in previous six-year terms.
“I want discipline, loyalty, rectitude, and honesty to be maintained, and this can only be guaranteed if the National Guard is part of the Defense Secretariat. (…) I don’t give up the first time, so before the end of my term, when the new congress begins, when the new legislature enters, I am going to send a new reform to the Constitution so that the National Guard continues to be supported, formed, led by the Secretary of National Defense, because that is the best for our people,” he reported.
