Book excerpt: During the Cold War, Mexico successfully bucked the tide of US backed military dictatorships that swept Latin America. Ironically, after communism has disappeared as a political force, Mexico's army is mired in multiple counterinsurgency battles, has been infiltrated by narcotics traffickers at the highest ranks, is endemic with corruption, and is increasingly dependent on US weapons, training, and ideology. In 16 chapters, written by 11 experts in military affairs, including two full generals (one retired, the other a political prisoner, who smuggled out his three chapters in this volume via his son on visiting days), a complex and comprehensive picture of the Mexican Armed Forces is presented. The book discusses in great length, over 250 oversize pages, with a wealth of charts, graphs, footnotes and a fold out map, the history, mission, and the constitutional context of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Guerrero; the growth and institutionalization of paramilitaries; the relation between militarization and economics; the military budget; the drug war; and the problematic relationship between the US and Mexican militaries. A crucial text for anyone wanting to understand what is really going on south of the border.