The joint committees on Constitutional Issues, First Legislative Studies, and Security of the Senate approved a reform that grants the Secretariat of Public Security the authority to carry out investigations into crimes. The approval took place during the session on Monday, November 11. Oscar Cantón, who chairs the Commission on Constitutional Issues, emphasized that the main objective is to ensure that the civil command of Omar García Harfuch prevails in the security strategy.
In a prior interview before the session, Cantón stated: "The coordination will be effective, in the sense that the Secretariat will coordinate the national security strategy. We are doing it this way so there is coordination with municipalities, states, and all entities of the Executive Branch. We are emphasizing that the command is civil at all times, which is why the Secretariat will coordinate these efforts where the Army, Navy, and National Force will be present."
Ricardo Anaya from the PAN expressed his support for the initiative for two fundamental reasons: the pacification of Mexico requires investigations under the coordination of a civil command, and it is essential to dismantle organized crime organizations. In his intervention, he mentioned the importance of not only dismantling these organizations, as in many cases this does not resolve, and even exacerbates the problem. Additionally, he predicted that the discussion of the reform would address the case of Genaro García Luna, the former Security Secretary sentenced in the United States for ties to drug trafficking.
Another point to highlight was Ricardo Anaya's request for the secondary law to establish "democratic safeguards to ensure that the purpose of the reform is met." For his part, Manuel Añorve, parliamentary coordinator of the PRI, expressed his support for the initiative and advocated for a greater budget for Harfuch's Secretariat of Security.
In contrast, Claudia Anaya, also from the PRI, supported the authority granted to the Secretariat but expressed her opposition to the inclusion of the National Guard in these functions: "The National Guard is a military body, with military jurisdiction, with military command, and should not have investigative functions," she highlighted.
Overall, the proposal received support from the coordinator of Movimiento Ciudadano, Clemente Castañeda, who considered it crucial to standardize standards and criteria of action among police corporations. However, he expressed concern over the idea of conditioning the auditing of resources from federal entities in this matter, suggesting that this function should remain with the Superior Audit Office of the Federation.
