Latin America

Thu

Sep

2014

Pot-banging protests set the background music to a military parade

New translation available

Submitted by Gary

El Ciudadano

Despite the widespread police forces deployed during the military parade in the Parque O’Higgins, hundreds of people protested by banging pots near...

Thu

Jul

Rejecting Militarization

Submitted by hannah on Thu, 28/07/2016 - 09:49

Colombia is the only South American nation with an ongoing internal armed conflict where military service is obligatory, requiring all 18-year-old young men to serve for 1 to 2 years - with no option of an alternative civil service. The Collective Action of Conscientious Objectors (ACOOC) is committed to nonviolence and they educate and defend the rights of youth who object to serving in the military. ACOOC works towards demilitarization of society by using creative means such as films and street theatre to highlight the degree of militarization in Colombian society.

Rejecting Militarization

Thu

Jul

Forced recruitment and peace

Submitted by hannah on Thu, 28/07/2016 - 09:02

Colombia is the only South American nation with an ongoing internal armed conflict where military service is obligatory, requiring all 18-year-old young men to serve for one to two years - with no option of an alternative civil service. A military identification card is required to work in the public sector. Julián Ovalle and Alejandro Parra, of the Collective Action of Conscientious Objectors, describe their personal experience with forced recruitment and how it can be a nightmare for someone who has a fundamental objection to military service.

Forced recruitment and peace

Thu

Nov

RAMALC campaigning for the Week of Action

No queremos militarizacion de nuestra juventud! The Latin American and Caribbean Anti-Militarist Network (RAMALC) campaigns for the International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth.

No queremos militarizacion de nuestra juventud! La Red Antimilitarista de América Latina y el Caribe (RAMALC) participa de la Semana de Acción contra la Militarización de la Juventud

Wed

Jan

Acción colectiva de objetores y objetoras de conciencia

Conscientious objection campaigning movement and antimilitarist direct action.

Wed

Oct

Mexico city military parade with children

Submitted by hannah on Wed, 08/10/2014 - 13:00

Children in Mexico City plaza take part in army parade'

Video: Igor Seke

Mexico city military parade with children

Fri

Mar

Quotes from WRI's Countering the Militarisation of Youth conference: Gender and sexuality

Submitted by hannah on Fri, 07/03/2014 - 14:31

The image of masculinity...the model men that go to war, that compete. - Jorge Veléz, Colombia

The Ministry of Women, for example, was created in 2006 and since then one of the main goals that the Minister for Women has proposed is to provide two million female members to the militia. She has already set in motion a first stage where she promised 150,000... - Rafael Uzcategui, Venezuela

We do also have women in the military, but comparatively the ratio is low. – Samuel Koduh, Ghana

Fri

Mar

Quotes from WRI's Countering the Militarisation of Youth conference: Recruitment, and The military in public and private space

Submitted by hannah on Fri, 07/03/2014 - 14:28

Recruitment

The way that I ended up joining the military was that when I was a senior in high school I intended to go to college but I didn't have any way to pay for it...I talked to an army recruiter [about an army scholarship] and he made it sound really good...Any time between signing the contract and going to basic training, you can change your mind and there won't be any consequences. Of course, the recruiters won't tell you that – they'll threaten legal consequences etc... - Kelly Dougherty, USA

Fri

Mar

Quotes from WRI's Countering the Militarisation of Youth conference: Public discourse and Education

Submitted by hannah on Fri, 07/03/2014 - 14:22

Public discourse

They are constantly selling the idea that Venezuela is going to be invaded by the United States and in the face of this external threat...there is a permanent feeling of being on the verge of war or armed conflict...They always say that the United State wants Venezuela’s oil, however our president Chávez negotiated with transnational energy companies for 30 to 40 years. This means that that argument is invalid... - Rafael Uzcategui, Venezuela

Fri

Feb

Call of Duty: Feeding the Venezuela Haters or Just Dumb Fun?

Submitted by Gary on Fri, 28/02/2014 - 12:33

Almagro is a red-beret wearing, Simon Bolivar-admiring and vehemently anti-US Venezuelan dictator who used petrodollars to forge a nightmare alliance of South American nations.

Ryan Mallett-Outtrim -

If ideology shapes our fantasies as Zizek suggests, then Call of Duty: Ghosts is imperialism distilled.

“How do we experience ourselves ideologically? What do we find worth fighting for? What's the meaning of our life?”

This is how Slovenian philosopher Slajoj Zizek launched a response to the question of why he finds cinema such a useful tool for analysing modern capitalist ideology during a recent interview with Vice.

Answering his own questions, he continued, “You have to look at Hollywood, where you get it [ideology] in pure, distilled form.”

The interview was about Zizek's latest film, The Pervert's Guide to Ideology. In the film, Zizek essentially argues that even in our dreams and fantasies, we cannot escape the dominant ideologies of our time.

Thu

Jan

Violence, military service, and the education system in Chile

Submitted by Gary on Thu, 16/01/2014 - 14:50

Dan Contreras

In order to relate militarisation and youth in Chile, we must look to the past and recognise the hundreds of years of militarism in the history of this region. Chile has seen territorial and violent occupations by European colonists, the construction of 'homeland heroes' as the core motivational idea behind patriotism, the legalisation of mandatory military training, huge increases in military spending as compared to social spending, the incorporation of military practices within civilian schools, among many other examples. The brunt of these actions has been born by the population’s most economically vulnerable group, but potentially the strongest in political terms: the country’s boys, girls and young adults. The vulnerability of this segment of the population has allowed it to be exposed to militarisation with ease; potential pockets of resistance are neutralised.

Today, militarism is instilled in society through three different approaches:

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Countering Military Recruitment

WRI's new booklet, Countering Military Recruitment: Learning the lessons of counter-recruitment campaigns internationally, is out now. The booklet includes examples of campaigning against youth militarisation across different countries with the contribution of grassroot activists.

You can order a paperback version here.