The shaping of the repressive apparatus: the intelligence courses of the Federal Security Directorate, 1947–1985

Abstract

The Federal Security Directorate (dfs), created in 1947, developed various training mechanisms throughout its existence to prepare its agents for surveillance, investigation, and intelligence work. This article analyzes the training courses provided between 1947 and 1985 in order to examine how their content evolved and how they related to the strengthening of the institution’s operational capacities. The research draws primarily on internal dfs records held at the Archivo General de la Nación, triangulated with specialized scholarship and audiovisual material. The analysis identifies a transition from initial training focused on police techniques to more systematic programs in investigation, intelligence, counterintelligence, interrogation, and counterinsurgency, some of which were developed through exchanges and courses provided by foreign agencies. The documents examined suggest that this progressive professionalization accompanied the institutional growth of the dfs and expanded the technical resources available for surveillance, infiltration, and the suppression of dissent. From this perspective, the article argues that the training of agents provides a means of understanding the consolidation of the state intelligence apparatus and its participation in the repressive practices developed during Mexico’s so-called Dirty War.