Mexico’s lower house of Congress has voted to continue using the military to tackle domestic security issues through 2028.

The motion now goes to the senate to decide whether to keep the Mexican army on the country’s streets.

In 2020, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador extended the deployment through 2024. And on Thursday said he is in favor of adding an additional four years to the controversial policy.

Despite campaigning against militarization, the president now says it is necessary to tackle cartel violence.

Just last week, Congress also approved a measure giving the army control over the civilian-led National Guard. That sparked criticism from security and human rights experts who say concentrating more power in the military will not reduce skyrocketing violence and could lead to increased human rights abuses.