“Cockroaches, crickets, axolots and a kilo of totoaba craw”: criticism of the NG report

This Wednesday, April 20, the report of the National Guard (GN) was discussed, voted and approved in the Senate of the Republic. During the exchange of arguments, the senators defended and attacked the text of this institution; however, some actions stood out above others, such as Emilio Álvarez Icaza, who ironized about the reported results.

And it is that the senator attached to the Plural Parliamentary Group (GPP), when he spoke in the legislative precinct, condemned that among the things of interest reported by the NG was the insurance of 320 cockroaches, 20 crickets and other animals “extremely dangerous” for national security.

When he began his participation, his criticism landed on three axes: the State model, the security model and the GN report. Regarding the State model, he pointed out that there is an undeniable process of militarization, since 246 civilian tasks were transferred to the Mexican Armed Forces. In this regard, he argued that if the dynamic is not changed, a “militarized and authoritarian narco-state” will be inherited.

On the second axis, that of the security model, he said that the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) had announced that it would make a strategy in which the Armed Forces would not play a central role; however, the current security model puts the Armed Forces at the center.

About the GN he said that it was supposed to be a civilian institution, but in fact it is made up of military personnel installed on military bases. In addition, he noted that almost 80 per cent of the forces that compose it belonged to the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena).

Regarding the report, he noted that it shows that it is an “administrative fiction” that contributes to the militarization of Mexico. In addition, he stressed that of the 8,800 detained by the GN, only 14 are for intelligence, 50 for crimes against health and six for homicides. In this regard, he condemned the number of arrests by the National Guard, as it is an abundant force in Mexico.

“But what does the National Guard inform us?” , he asked ironically, “the NG assured 320 cockroaches, 20 very dangerous crickets, two axolottes, which must be a threat to GN, three snakes and a kilo of totoaba craw, among other jewels and subtleties that the GN thought it was very important to inform this sovereignty.”

However, there were also those who defended the report. This was the case of Verónica Camino and Sergio Pérez Flores, both of Morena's National Regeneration Movement (Morena), who assured that Mexico is on the way to pacification and that citizens are aware of it, since the crime incidence of numerous illicits involving the NG has fallen by as much as 50 percent. They also highlighted the approval of this security institution.

Senator Camino Farjat, in addition to highlighting the approval of the GN, sent cordial congratulations to General Luis Rodríguez Bucio, commander of the National Guard, for his performance and for giving information every week since the national president's morning conferences.

On his own, Pérez Flores argued that the report is quite technical and includes relevant information such as arms control, violation of human rights, money assurance, theft of hydrocarbons, territorial deployment, deployed troops, participations, use of force, detainees, insurance, sanctioned elements, recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) and the strategy implemented.

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