Militarism and Peace in Latin America and the Caribbean

Start: Saturday, October 23, 202111:00 AM

End: Sunday, October 24, 2021 1:30 PM

Latin America is part of the militarization and armament trends in the world, which has
continued to grow since the 2014 NATO summit in Wales. This should be the focus of the
first part of the Conference:
    • NATO's partnership agreement with Colombia and Brazil as “global partners”.
    • Expansion of the US military bases in Peru, Columbia, Honduras, Costa Rica, Chile, Paraguay and Guantanamo in Cuba; Military bases of Great Britain, France and the Netherlands.
    • Use of the military infrastructure of other Latin American countries (e.g. Ecuador, Galapagos Islands).
    • New military bases in Colombia, Guyana and the ABC Islands.
    • Increase in military maneuvers by US and NATO troops in Colombia, Brazil and off the coasts of Venezuela.
    • Mercenary operations in Venezuela financed by CIA.
    • Training of Latin American military personnel in the US, in other NATO countries or by Latin American representatives.
    • Growing arms exports from Western countries to Latin America.
    • Exercise of government functions and economic power by high military personnel.
    • Increasing subordination of civilian tasks to military leadership (fighting the drug mafia, opposition and emancipatory movements and in Corona policy).
    • Policy of sanctions and blockades against Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.
   • Military cooperation with paramilitary groups, organized crime and transnational corporations.

In the second part of the Conference, counterstrategies against the growing militarization and militarism in Latin America and possible alternatives will be worked out:
   • Connection between progressive political change and an independent and peaceful foreign policy (mass protests in Chile and work on a new constitution, election of a left-wing president in Bolivia, women's protests in Argentina, Chile and Mexico, release of the former Brazilian President Lula).
   • Peace policy on an international scale:
            o Growing number of ratifications of the Tlatelolco Treaty for a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone.
            o Proclamation "Zone of Peace" by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Havana.
            o The participation of Latin American countries in UN peace missions.

The conference is supported by: EcoMujer e.V. | | Gesellschaft für Frieden und internationale Solidarität (GeFiS) | Netzwerk InterRed Cooperación e.V. | Netzwerk „No to war - no to NATO“ | Unidas por la Paz / Defendamos la Paz Internacional | Institut „Welttrends“. Media partnership with: amerika21.de | Granma | Zeitschrift „Welt-trends“ | junge Welt | Marxistische Blätter | pressenza | Lateinamerika anders.

Venue: Frankfurter Gewerkschaftshaus, Wilhelm-Leuschner-Str. 69-77, 60329 Frankfurt/Main (near main train station (HBF)).

Online registration: for the zoom conference via https://bit.ly/3z3B8Ne (zoom Link).

Registration for Frankfurt/M.: Due to the expected limited attendance (Corona conditions), registration is necessary at Frieden-und-zukunft@t-online.de.

Sponsored by