Costa Rica abolished its army in 1948 and recognizes a constitutional right to peace. But recent decisions to militarize the police and allow U.S. military presence and training in the country violate the constitution and threat the commitment to peace.
Last April 28, 2011, a Costa Rican court nullified a Presidential Decree issued by former President Oscar Arias that granted police chiefs of police the power to authorize and use weapons of war. The ruling represents a victory, but Costa Rica’s commitment to peace is being undermined from within.
Despite a long history of military confrontation between Mexico and the United States throughout the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, Mexico initiated a policy of military cooperation with the United States when World War II broke out that prevailed throughout the early 1940s.
The uprising in Ecuador that occurred on September 30 shook the world and sparked a debate about the reason for the unrest. Groups of police and members of the armed forces, disgruntled over a law that, among other aspects, eliminates police bonuses, took to the streets in protest. When President Rafael Correa went out to talk to the police, he was attacked with tear gas and later held captive in the police hospital as police officers continued to attack unarmed citizens.
