Mexico Conscription
Obligatory military service for males was introduced in 1941 in response to Mexico's possible entry into World War II. During January in the year of their eighteenth birthday, all Mexican men are required to register with the local municipal government for military service. Out of approximately 1.1 million who register each year, some 320,000 are selected by lottery to begin training during January of the following year. The military obligation is for twelve months, which in practice means no more than one morning a week of calisthenics and drilling (although some draftees are now required to fulfill a three-month period of full-time training).
Each year, the SEDENA (Secretary of National Defense) requires every eighteen-year-old man and every man who will be that age within twelve (12) months of the draft date of a designated Clase de Servicio Militar Nacional (National Military Service Class) to report to his municipality's designated military recruitment center. There, he will register to the conscription program with his birth certificate and standard-size, head-and-shoulders portrait photographs in order to be issued a precartilla (pre-military identity card) with a serial number, photograph, right thumb fingerprint, weapons licence number, and personal data (address, current schooling level, etc.) that finally, after the draft lottery and a year of service, earns him full conscript status and a Cartilla de Servicio Militar acional (Military National Service Identity Card), informally, cartilla (military I.D. card) attesting to his having fulfilled his civic obligation in duty to the nation.
The SEDENA's lottery determines who will be exempted from or drafted for military duty — either with the army or with the navy. Formerly, the military service lottery required the presence of every man of a National Military Service Class; he stood at attention, awaiting either conscription or exemption; each man's name was called aloud and a child drew a colored ball from a bag — the color determined the man's conscription to or exemption from military service. Today, military service status selection is computerized, but the results are announced as before: White ball (Army service), Black ball (exemption), and Blue ball (Navy-Marines service). Currently, a seal is stamped to the "precartilla" identifying the bearer's military draft lottery status.
Conscript Soldiers Legally, every Mexican man is obligated to a year of servicio militar nacional — SMN (national military service — NMS), until recently, only a few hours of drill on weekends, not true military training. Most conscripts will have received only one marksmanship session at a rifle range by the time they have completed their NMS obligation. The 1986 National Military Service class was the last class oriented to social service purposes. The NMS was restructured, and conscripts now receive true military training and education. The 1987 class was the first to receive proper marksmanship training. The men of an NMS class who remain after their obligation, are recruited volunteers who have chosen to be career soldiers.
The draftees participate in week-end military training comprising basic military training with weapons and combat tactics, yet it emphasizes education, history, physical fitness, and military discipline for one complete year. Afterward, the precartilla (pre-military identity card) is returned to the conscript with an added page certifying his status as having fulfilled his national military service and identifies the military branch, the unit, rank, etc. The document then acquires full status as the Cartilla del Servicio Militar acional (Military National Service Identity Card), informally Cartilla; this status is recorded to the National Defense Secretariat files.
On completing military service, conscripts remain in reserve status until the age of forty. Completion of the service requirement is noted on a Military Identity Card that bears the individual's photograph and must be revalidated every two years. The identity card is required when applying for a passport, driver's license, or employment. This requirement provides the Mexican government with a useful means of keeping track of its adult male population. The Military National Service Identity Card is an important form of Mexican national identification, and its existence was formerly always requested by private and public employers, however, this identity document has ceased being required for obtaining a passport for international travel.
The Mexican government stated in 1994: "Mexican legislation does not recognize the concept of conscientious objection to military service. For those who are required to perform national military service as one of their obligations as Mexican citizens, it considers that the collective interest in defending the nation must prevail over the private interests of individuals." There are no known cases of conscripts stating they are conscientious objectors.
According to the Mexican government: "To date there have been no cases of consientious objection to military service, since Mexicans are conscientious about performing their military obligations as citizens and there is no legislation in this regard." The first generation of members of the Mennonite community arriving in Mexico were exempt from military service by a 1942 National Defence decree. It is not known whether they were exempt because of their possible refusal to perform military service. The government stated in 1990 that Mennonites born in Mexico are not exempt from military service.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
