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Generals at the Gates:Military Power and Social Change in Mexico
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An unflinching account of how the Mexican armed forces became the unexpected powerbrokers in national life
Drawing on in-depth research and on-the-ground reporting, journalist Dawn Marie Paley reveals an oft-overlooked transformation in how power is organized in Mexico. On any given day, nearly a quarter of a million troops from the Army, Marines, and National Guard patrol the countryside and the streets, tasked with detaining migrants, policing communities, making arrests, and overseeing prohibition. Today, generals and admirals control customs houses, airports, railways, ports, and even luxury hotels and a national airline—embedding the military deep within the country’s civilian and economic life.
Reviews
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In this follow up to her bestseller Drug War Capitalism, journalist Dawn Paley gives us a riveting account of the rampant militarization of Mexican economy and society. She shows how the Mexican military has become a major player not just in the violence sweeping Mexico but also in the current wave of transnational capitalist penetration, displacement, and repression of the poor and their social movements. Paley exposes how the expansion of military power brings in its wake massacres, torture, disappearances, clandestine graves, and extractivist megaprojects that displace whole communities and destroy the environment. Generals at the Gates is a must- read exposé for anyone concerned with the defense of human rights and social justice in this age of global capitalism in crisis.
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In a world of creeping fascism and right-wing populist fury, Mexico's recent history appears as a bright spot for the global Left. But as Generals at the Gates unflinchingly uncovers, Mexico's "Fouth Transformation" has been accompanied by a staggering increase in the power and resources of the Mexican military. Combining deep historical context and brave original reporting, Paley brings us an urgent warning: the militarization of public life has already had grave consequences for Mexico—and the power and resources of the military only continue to grow. Refusing to look away from this truth, Paley forces us to grapple with what Mexico's increasing militarization means not just for public budgets and basic security, but for democracy itself.
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Paley masterfully combines insightful on the ground reporting with extensive documentary research to paint a frightening portrait of the militarization of Mexican society and the threat it poses to justice and democracy.
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Generals at the Gate is a documented account of Mexico’s militarization and its alarming —and unprecedented— role in civilian institutions, security policies, and key infrastructure developments. From replacing the entire federal police to running Mexico City’s airport and even the new tourist train in the Yucatán peninsula, Mexico’s armed forces now have a ubiquitous presence in the national territory. Dawn Paley has surveyed the extent of their power and their devastating effects in today’s Mexican society. Her work maps the problematic continuity of the country's military in recent history, including in the governments of the populist left that purported to revert it.