The Treaty of Tlatelolco: The Contention of the Nuclear Threat in LatinAmerica

The Treaty of Tlatelolco created the first nuclear weapons-free zone in a densely populated region. Thirty years later, the context established for non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean is still in force, and has shown singular flexibility and a surprising ability to adjust, as demonstrated by the successful containment of Brazil's and Argentina's nuclear aspirations and their decision to renounce all military nuclear ambition. The purpose of the essay is to offer some thoughts on the success of denuclearization policies and the effectiveness of the non-proliferation rule in the region. In the first of two sections, it analyzes the negotiation process that, under Mexico's creative leadership, would achieve participation by those States that had nuclear aspirations, and later would create mutually acceptable institutional agreements. The second section examines the importance of a network of institutions and organizations that, like the Organization for Proscription of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and tbe Caribbcan (OPANAL), woult take part in the effort to legitimize the non-proliferation rule in the region, and lastly, its consolitation.