Mexico — Military File

MCB · 54/100 — The Magna grade is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — five dimensions, 100+ indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.

Momentum +3 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).

Mexico navigated US tariff pressure inside the USMCA framework without breaking the relationship — the quarter's central test, passed.

Behind the diplomacy, the fundamentals held: record first-half FDI and falling homicides. A modestly positive quarter for a country managing a giant neighbour.

the Mexican Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas de México) are divided between the Secretariat of National Defense and the Secretariat of the Navy: Secretariat of National Defense (Secretaria de Defensa Nacional, SEDENA): Army (Ejercito), Mexican Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Mexicana, FAM), National Guard (Guardia Nacional); Secretariat of the Navy (Secretaria de Marina, SEMAR): Mexican Navy (Armada de Mexico (ARM), includes Naval Air Force (FAN), Mexican Naval Infantry Corps (Cuerpo de Infanteria de Marina, Mexmar or CIM)) Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection/SEDENA: National Guard (2025)

information varies; approximately 260,000 active-duty Armed Forces; approximately 110,000 National Guard personnel (2025)

the Mexican military inventory includes a mix of domestically produced and imported armaments from a variety of mostly Western suppliers, particularly the US; Mexico's defense industry produces light armored vehicles and some naval vessels, as well as small arms and other miscellaneous equipment (2025)

18 years of age (16 with parental consent) for voluntary service for men and women; men at age 18 subject to lottery-based 12-month compulsory military service (2025)

the Mexican military is responsible for defending the independence, integrity, and sovereignty of Mexico, as well as providing for internal security, disaster response, humanitarian assistance, and socio-economic development; internal security duties are a key focus, particularly combating narcotics trafficking and organized crime groups, as well as border control and immigration enforcement; the constitution was amended in 2019 to grant the president the authority to use the armed forces to protect internal and national security, and courts have upheld the legality of the armed forces’ role in law enforcement activities in support of civilian authorities through 2028; the military also provides security for strategic facilities, such as oil production infrastructure, and administers most of the country's land and sea ports and customs services, plus a state-owned development bank; in addition, President LÓPEZ OBRADOR placed the military in charge of a growing number of infrastructure projects, such as building and operating a new airport for Mexico City and sections of a train line in the country’s southeast (2025)