LOOKING AT ARMS CONTROL AND DISARMAMENT FROM A LATIN PERSPECTIVE ON STRUCTURES/CULTURES OF PEACE

Azril Bacal Roij, CIPAE-Puebla, México, IRIPAZ-Guatemala, CLAIP, Red Universidad y Compromiso Social de Sevilla

Against the background of the covid-19 pandemics, global warming, global and regional militarism, the growth of global and regional inequalities, the expulsion of tens of millions of refugees from their homes and countries, the growth of racism, nationalist-populism, hostile borders, and the globalization of crime and arms trade, the aim of this presentation is to provide an overview of the past, present and future trends in Latin America related to arms control and disarmament. This overview is approached from the following perspectives: (1) Structures/Cultures of Peace (Felipe MacGregor in Perú, UNESCO, CLAIP, IRIPAZ Indigenous Peoples' Movement, World Social Forum), (2) Latin American Contributions to Non-Alignment, briefly looking at the cases of Mexico (Tlatelolco treaty, Nobel laurate Ambassador Robles, CEESTEM, SERPAJ), Perú (The "Mercado Doctrine of Regional Security" - as an alternative to TRIAR - also suporting the yugoslavian (Tito-Kardelj) self-management approach to development - as opposed to Western marketism and Soviet statism - and the international campaign against apartheid - during the Velazco Regime 1968-1974) and  Brazil (the international contribution of Itamaratí with Cesar Amorin as foreign minister to non-alignment and South-South cooperation during Lula's and Dilma's regimes - in contrast to Bolsonaro's foreign policiy submission to Trump's authoritarian and violent regime in USA), (3) The role of the UN Regional Center for Arms Control and Disarmament (Lima), (4) North-South Peace Cooperation (exemplified by the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, in Colombia, Mexico and Guatemala) and last but not least South-South Cooperation (in the spirit of Bandung). The regional context is defined by conditions of structural violence, militarization (Bolsonaro's Brazil, Duque's Colombia, and AMLO's Mexico), widespread corruption, criminality and human insecurity - worsened by the covid-19 pandemics, the trade of drugs and weapons, and threats to human rights and democracy. The argument is that while Latin America is nuclear-free, the global nuclear threat is not perceived as such by the average citizen - due to the immediacy of survival needs made worse by the covid-19 pandemic and the lack of health infrastructure in the region, except for Cuba. The arms trade of "light weapons" continues as SIPRI yearly documents "business as usual" and even growing - related to "fake national security needs," and the worlds of drugs and crime. The latter is due to the structural conditions of poverty, unemployment and the role of the informal economy where the market and the state don't create jobs for the growing young population. The vision of Another Possible Latin America presented here is to radically diminish and/or eliminate the so-called national defense budget, thereby lowering the buying of weapons from the nuke countries with industrial-military complexes heavily involved in the "death industry" (production and  profitable sale of weapons - big and small) who sit for ever (if not evicted)  in what Evo Morales called the "insecurity council. Small industrialized countries like Sweden also profit from exporting weapons like the 36 Jas-Grippen supersonic planes sold to an impoverished Brazil. It is known that the arms trade is closely related to corruption at the high military and governmental levels. In this respect, Costa Rica is exemplary in the region by abolishing its national army and related costs. It was not easy for President Figueres, himself a general, to accomplish this feat. Mass support from the civil population was required.to accomplish this feat! Money saved from buying arms and supporting what has become a privileged social caste in Latin America (and other regions of the world) would help to eradicate poverty and hunger from Latin America and from the face of Earth. Money not wasted in the killing machinery would help to save Amazonas, finance sustainable human development on all fronts, to create health infrastructure (top priority to begin with), added to education, housing and employment opportunities. This vision or dream about the transition from structures/cultures of violence to Another Latin America based on Democracy, Justice and Peace is not bound to be an easy ride. Against the murderous propaganda of arms lobbies, most peoples and countries don't need weapons to peacefully unfold their lives. The alternative to this vision is a nightmare of more of the same getting worse by the day. in Latin America and elsewhere. The Spirit of Bandung as viewed by Samir Amin shares a similar vision held by the World Social Forum, a basically Latin American gift of hope and a vision of other possible worlds based on democracy, justice and peace. Last but not least, The concept "culture of peace" was coined by Felipe MacGregor, a Peruvian Jesuit, inspired by the work of Elise Boulding and Betty Reardon on Peace Education at the International Peacer Research Association. This concept was later adopted by UNESCO (with Federico Mayor Zaragoza as Director General) and the UN Assembly - with its Decade of Peace still waiting for Godot. In the spirit of Gandhi, most social movements struggling for democracy, justice and peace in Latin America adhere to the principles of non-violence (Ahimsa).