President Pena Nieto Calls Criticism of Military 'Unacceptable' in Speech Before 32,000 Soldiers Alex Gonzalez - WSWS.org
go to original April 6, 2017

The Mexican President condemned any criticism of the country’s military (Presidency of the Republic)

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto fervently defended the Mexican military at a massive gathering of the Armed Forces last week. Peña Nieto’s appearance comes in the wake of criticisms about the military’s record of human rights abuses by politicians and civil organizations as the government prepares to legalize and expand its participation in domestic operations.

In his nationalistic tirade, the Mexican President condemned any and all criticism of the country’s military. “Whoever denigrates the labor of our Armed Forces degrades Mexico; whoever hurts them hurts Mexico; whoever discredits their work discredits Mexico,” Peña Nieto told his audience. He branded affronts against the military as near-treasonous acts that were “inadmissible and unacceptable,” claiming negative reports were targeting the military out of “ignorance or malice.”

Peña Nieto gave his speech to a massive audience of 32,000 active soldiers, pilots and marines and their families, as well as another 86,000 military personnel watching online. In total, the Mexican president reached more than one third of the country’s military forces. Highlighting the extraordinary political crisis facing the Mexican government, this event marked the first time in Mexican history that the president has addressed the Armed Forces at a national level.

Despite worsening economic indicators, Peña Nieto blatantly denied the country was undergoing a period of crisis: “Crisis is surely what may be present in their minds, but this is not what is happening.” In February, inflation reached its highest level in seven years, and the cost of living is drastically outpacing wages.

Speaking directly against accusations of human rights abuses, the Mexican president censured those “who have pointed to and condemned members of our Armed Forces, who have said the work of our Armed Forces is to offend, to harm, to disrespect human rights, to massacre, as someone dared say.”

Peña Nieto’s address was a thinly veiled attack against Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), the leader and presidential candidate of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena). AMLO has made several criticisms of the military in the past months, putting the Mexican government on the defensive about the record of the Armed Forces during the decade-long “war on drugs.”

Read the rest at WSWS.org

Related: Mexico Drug War Militarization: Peña Nieto's Defense of the Military Is Alternate Reality (Mexico Voices)

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!