Interview with Ambassador Luiz Brun de Almeida e Souza, Executive Vice-President, Association of Brazilian Diplomats, at the conclusion of the Americas Summit, April 28 to May 2, 2008, in Washington, DC
Q. What is the meaning of your participation in this conference?
A. I tried to make connections, linkages between peace and the questions of environment around the world. Why? Because there are many threats to our survival on the planet. They affect all the countries, all the nations, and this can create a common cause to unite us against those threats. In the meeting of the Universal Peace Federation, I tried to emphasize the importance of a new awareness of those environmental problems, such as the melting down of the poles, the greenhouse effect, rising sea levels, the destruction of ecosystems in different countries, the pollution of the seas, that break the food chain as a consequence. Those threats will create such a chaos on earth that peace will be breached and the nations will fight for survival.
Q. What new insights were offered to the participants?
A. I think that meeting had a wonderful exchange of ideas among politicians, former presidents, former prime ministers, congressmen, diplomats, and government officials. Those people were obliged to listen to many arguments and criticisms involving their own countries, and I think this is wonderful for a democratic approach within the Federation. It was an environment where people were able to listen even to difficult issues.
Q. What were some of the key contributions to the deliberations at this conference?
A. We had great personalities. I will cite some, such as Felipe González, former prime minister of Spain; Julio Sanguinetti, former president of Uruguay; and Jorge Fernando Quiroga, former president of Bolivia. In addition, there were many American ambassadors who had worked in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Our nations were examined from different standpoints, but I think the most important angle was the significance of the family, which is so emphasized by Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Also, the spiritual side of our lives is basic to understanding the work of the Universal Peace Federation. Without that dimension, we cannot explain why we suffer, why we succeed, or why we evolve. All the participants received magnificent insights from all those brilliant people.
Q. What are you taking back from this conference to the people of Brazil?
A. The importance of the creative integration of our continent, which involves not only commerce but many other aspects, such as tourism, politics, and the protection of our ecosystem that is so precious. I think everything unites us. It only depends on how we communicate, how we will transmit our ideas to our people so they can understand how we can live better in Latin America. We need television and radio programs to illuminate our ideas. We need the participation of civil society and government together.
Q. What do the people in the United States need to understand about Latin America today?
A. This is the most difficult question to answer. American people must visit Latin America and make personal contacts there in order to understand our peculiar realities. We have a lot to offer the world. Brazil, for example, has a wonderful tradition of pacifism which is so important nowadays.
I would like to congratulate the Universal Peace Federation for this extraordinary meeting, and I hope that others will follow with the same characteristics, with the same openness that existed during these three days of the Americas Summit. The Federation is working for a new paradigm of good governance based on profound values that are essential to the survival of our planet.