CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS IN LATIN AMERICA: PECULIARITIES, LESSONS LEARNED, ONGOING LEARNING, PROPOSALS.

Abstract

The issue of civil-military relations remains important in Latin America. In a region made up of countries with democracies in transition, to varying degrees, and whose consolidation has achieved uneven success, recent years have witnessed a strong political polarization within the countries and between them, as well as a growing tension between the great hemispheric power and two other extra-regional powers, China and Russia, which has aftermath on the countries of the region, as well as the decline of regional integration. In this polarized environment, Latin American countries are seeking to consolidate the democratic system and formulate and apply defense policies, facing challenges arising from the economic situation left by the coronavirus pandemic and the global economic impact of the war between Russia and Ukraine, and, in some cases, of difficulties arising from the relationship between the Armed Forces and society. The need to apply in this last field both the lessons left by our own experience and those that arise from other countries in the region and the world is evident.

Key words: civil-military relations, democracy, transition, lessons learned, defense.