AMLO to incorporate Mexico’s Presidential General Staff into SEDENA

Mexico’s president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador

has decided to incorporate the Presidential General Staff (EMP) , which is in charge of protecting the life of Mexico’s chief of state, into the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA) , which means that the EMP, comprising over 8,000 people , will no longer be at the President’s command.

The EMP comprises 2,026 personnel: 1,586 in the Armed Forces, 52 police officers from Mexico City, and 382 civilians . 12 members of the armed forces are generals or admirals, 187 are chiefs or captains, 550 are officers, and the rest belongs to troops, training, and seafaring. 16% of the staff is female while 84% is male . The EMP has the support of the Corps of Presidential Guards, made up of 6,026 elements from the Army, Air force, and the Navy .

This military technical team represented a cost of 398,551,136 pesos in 2018 which, in addition to the MXN$241,223,617 destined to the General Coordination for Presidential Air Transports , makes a total of 639,774,753 pesos .

The Presidential General Staff was created in 1823 after the triumph of the Independence of Mexico , and it is in charge of safeguarding the life of the President, his family, cabinet members, and any other person he or she may determine, such as foreign chiefs of state visiting the country.

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The EMP’s organizational structure is headed by a chief supported by a personal secretary and an Informatics Unit. The head of the department has three deputy chiefs in charge of Security, Administration and Logistics, and General Controllership and Assistance .

The Security Deputy Chief , following information from the Presidency , manages offices in charge of intelligence and counter-intelligence, overall security, and the personal protection and safety of the President, his or her family, as well as personal associates.

The Administration and Logistics Deputy Chief is in charge of event organization and protocol, as well as event organization for the president’s wife or husband. The Logistics chief also manages the General Coordination for Presidential Air Transports and the Transmission Section.

The EMP is also in charge of protecting former presidents of Mexico, State Secretaries, and people personally appointed by the president such as presidential candidates, among others.

On several occasions, Mexico’s president-elect AMLO has refused the services of the EMP, stating that a leader who fights for justice has nothing to fear, and therefore doesn’t need any kind of protection.

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