This archive report was first published on 5 July 2019.
Published on July 5, 2019, hundreds of federal police in Mexico City have been blocking roads and demonstrating over the past two days to protest the National Guard, a newly launched security force aimed at fighting soaring crime and dealing with chronic corruption in the police.
The officers accuse the government of cutting their pay and violating the constitution by putting them under military command in the National Guard.
President Lopez Obrador has denied these claims, instead suggesting that the protest is being promoted by 'dark forces' in Mexican politics.
Security Minister Alfonso Durazo has linked the protests to 'interest groups linked to corruption', specifically mentioning former president Felipe Calderon as having ties to the protest leaders.
Calderon, a fierce critic of Lopez Obrador, was president from 2006 to 2012 for the conservative National Action Party (PAN).
Despite the controversy, Durazo reiterated that joining the National Guard will be voluntary, with no officers losing their pay or benefits, and those who want to work elsewhere can be reassigned to other duties if they choose.
