The relationship between crime victimization, corruption, and public attitudes of Mexico's armed forces

This paper studies the relationship between self-reported Mexico; public opinion; crime victimization, perceptions of corruption, and attitudes civil military relations of Mexico's armed forces. We find that perceptions of corruption along with individual and state-level factors are important predictors of support for Mexico's Army and Navy. While crime and violence have had a tremendous impact on Mexican society, crime victimization does not seem to undermine public support for the armed forces. In contrast, corruption in these institutions does undermine support. Given the historical and contemporary significance of the armed forces, this research has significant implications for the role of the coercive apparatus of the Mexican state.