Oscar Arias
Oscar Arias
Óscar Arias Sánchezwas President of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2010. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts to end the Central American crisis...
NationalityCosta Rican
ProfessionWorld Leader
Date of Birth13 September 1940
CityHeredia, Costa Rica
accustomed country elections four
It's a country that's accustomed to elections every four years. Clean, crystalline, transparent elections.
armed change country means military minds name necessary people profound wore yesterday
To demilitarize the country means to make a profound decision. It is not enough to change the name of the armed forces. It is necessary to change the minds of those people who only yesterday wore a military uniform.
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My country is a country of teachers. It is therefore a country of peace. We discuss our successes and failures in complete freedom. Because our country is a country of teachers, we closed the army camps, and our children go about with books under their arms, not with rifles on their shoulders. We believe in dialogue, in agreement, in reaching a consensus.
country peace children
Peace consists, very largely, in the fact of desiring it with all one's soul. The inhabitants of my small country, Costa Rica, have realized those words by Erasmus. Mine is an unarmed people, whose children have never seen a fighter or a tank or a warship.
country peace attitude
Peace is a never-ending process, the work of many decisions by many people in many countries. It is an attitude, a way of life, a way of solving problems and resolving conflicts. It cannot be forced on the smallest nation or enforced by the largest. It cannot ignore our differences or overlook our common interests. It requires us to work and live together.
arms fair health money spend
It's not fair for the U.S. to spend, on arms and weapons, so much money and then not spend on health care the money that is needed.
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In 1995, world military spending totaled nearly $800 billion. If we redirected just $40 billion of those resources over the next 10 years to fighting poverty, all of the world's population would enjoy basic social services, such as education, health care, nutrition, reproductive health, clean water and sanitation.
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You should not have the least doubt that in this, we will not cede.
aid central future increased trade
The absence of significant development aid has only increased the importance of trade for Central America's future.
education lack ruining
Poverty and lack of education are ruining our planet.
certainly peace profits
Our world is certainly dangerous, but it is made more dangerous, not less, by those who value profits over peace.
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More combat planes, missiles and soldiers won't provide additional bread for our families, desks for our schools, or medicine for our clinics.
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Mine is an unarmed people, whose children have never seen a fighter or a tank or a warship.
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Latin Americans glorify their past so ceaselessly that they make it almost impossible to advocate change.