Human Rights in the Whack-a-mole Drug War: Public Keeps Faith in Mexico Army, Despite Abuse Debate

From 'Insight Crime'

Public Keeps Faith in Mexico Army, Despite Abuse Debate: "While a landmark Supreme Court decision has put abuses by the Mexican military at the center of public debate, a new poll suggests that the country’s citizens have a high level of confidence in the army.

According to a new poll published in Excelsior, 58 percent of respondents said that the army respects human rights, with another 15 percent saying that the force shows partial respect. Only 21 percent said that the army did not respect human rights.

Furthermore, two-thirds of the polls respondents said that the army’s conduct with regard to human rights was satisfactory, compared to just 29 percent who said it was not. For the Federal Police, in contrast, just 45 percent gave the agency a satisfactory rating on human rights, with 52 percent saying it was unsatisfactory. The results for the municipal police -- 30 percent satisfactory, 69 percent unsatisfactory -- were even worse.

Majorities of respondents also expressed confidence in the 'fuero militar,' as the military's former exemption from civilian trials is known, and the army’s ability to police its own, while just 22 percent said that they thought the civilian tribunals were more trustworthy than the military tribunals."