The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) admitted a constitutional controversy against the decree of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that allows the Armed Forces to be available to perform public security tasks.
The appeal was filed by the former president of the Chamber of Deputies, Laura Rojas, who announced the notification.
“The arguments of those who said that the President of the Chamber could not present constitutional controversies by himself, without the approval of the plenary, were dismissed,” said Rojas, who concluded her time as a federal deputy.
The Court confirmed the admission of the constitutional controversy that in my capacity as President of the Chamber of Deputies I presented against the militarist agreement of the Executive. At last they will analyze if the armed forces in security tasks do so under the Constitution.
— Laura_Rojas_ (@Laura_Rojas_) September 1, 2021
Sources of the Court confirmed that the admission of the appeal will be published in the coming days in the list of notifications on constitutional controversies and actions of unconstitutionality.
Read more | AMLO legalizes military intervention in 12 police tasks; NGOs accuse lack of deadlines and controls
The decree, published on May 11 in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF), indicates that elements of the Army and Navy will be able to legally execute 12 public security functions that by definition were the exclusive competence of civilian police in Mexico, and that range from the possibility of making arrests on their own, to supervising migratory crossings or participating in operations to “restore order.”
The president’s order is based on a constitutional reform approved last year on the occasion of the creation of the National Guard, which enabled the president to use conventional military forces for police functions for the next five years.
With this admission, the Court will decide whether said decree is constitutional or not.
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