Mexico’s intelligence community: A critical description

Abstract

Mexico is an emerging power whose geographical position, economic weight, population density, and policy agenda will influence different areas of the international arena, including security. 1 Assuming that “[n]othing in our globalized world can nowadays remain solely regional,” 2 Mexico’s decisions about national security have a hemispheric and even global impact. Paradoxically, literature devoted to the study of the Mexican Intelligence Community (MIC) is scarce and superficial. Yet, the Mexican intelligence system is functional and features entities that exercise democratic control and supervision over this government activity. Nevertheless, certain tasks still need to be carried out in order to effectively consolidate the MIC in tactical and strategic terms.