Militarization of public security and violation of human rights in Mexico (2000-2020)

Abstract

This article analyses the militarization of public security in Mexico from a human rights perspective to observe the main effects of this policy at the national level in the last twenty years (2000-2020). The methodology used is mixed, combining a quantitative and a qualitative approach. The investigation shows that militarization, far from fighting crime, contributes to general growth in violence and human rights violations. Its main result is increasing lethality of security institutions in the use of public force, indicating that an important part of what had been presented as combats with organized crime, are instead extrajudicial executions. This harsh reality is illustrated with a case study based on the events that occurred in Tlatlaya in 2014.