Security, frontiers and National Gendarmerie in Contemporary Argentina

Abstract

Argentine National Gendarmerie (GNA) is a federal security force, of a military nature and with characteristics of an intermediate institution. GNA depends on the Ministry of Security of the Nation. Even though GNA arises with the purpose of protecting the international limit of national borders, whose primary function had been related to federal crimes and conflicts resolution of high intensity social problems, since the 2000s, policing in conflictive urban neighborhoods was added as a central activity to GNA. Recently, under the presidency of Mauricio Macri (2015-2019), GNA security operations in urban conflict zones continued to play a prominent role, but Macri´s government discourse focusing on «the fight against drug trafficking» elevated security matters at a national level. Hence, the need to strengthen «hot borders» for their protection. In this article, we will focus on that very security policy making process of Mauricio Marcri (2015-2019)´s government, through which an emphasis was put on «hot borders» as security sectors for «drug trafficking» treatment considered as a national problem. Special attention will be given to a north Argentine frontier that borders Brazil. The methodology used was primarily qualitative, interviews were conducted with civil servants and also with GNA personnel, which were complemented with the analysis of decrees and related regulations