Oscar Arias Quotes

“It is essential that justice be done, it is equally vital that justice not be confused with revenge, for the two are wholly different.”

— Oscar Arias

“The best way to perpetuate poverty is by spending on arms and military, and the best way to fight terrorism is by fighting the basic needs of humanity, because hunger and poverty perpetuate crime.”

— Oscar Arias

“The 20th century has been marked by cynicism, selfishness, greed, and the desire to please, all without changing the status quo. In the 21st century, we must resurrect solidarity and compassion.”

— Oscar Arias

In the United States, resources exist to retrain displaced workers and promote the development of technologies that create new job opportunities for American workers.

— Oscar Arias

Costa Rica believes in building bridges, in looking for solutions to problems, and not clinging to positions.

— Oscar Arias

“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.”

— Oscar Arias

“If there is no peace in Central America, it will not be because Costa Rica, and myself as president, have not done what is necessary to obtain peace.”

— Oscar Arias

“Free trade will go a long way toward alleviating poverty in Central America. Yet trade alone is not enough.”

— Oscar Arias

During the 41 years that have elapsed since Costa Rica abolished its army, our fundamental freedoms have never been threatened, nor do we know a shameful history of repression.

— Oscar Arias

“In a democracy, a leader must be the head teacher, someone eager to respond to doubts and questions and explain the need for and the benefits of a new course.”

— Oscar Arias

“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.”

— Oscar Arias

“A nation that mistreats its own citizens is more likely to mistreat its neighbours.”

— Oscar Arias

“I do not believe that the hungry man should be treated as subversive for expressing his suffering.”

— Oscar Arias

I often say that poverty needs no passport to travel.

— Oscar Arias

“Latin America has not achieved the development that it deserves ... I'm not optimistic for all of Latin America, not only for Central America.”

— Oscar Arias

“Latin Americans glorify their past so ceaselessly that they make it almost impossible to advocate change.”

— Oscar Arias

Mine is an unarmed people, whose children have never seen a fighter or a tank or a warship.

— Oscar Arias

“More combat planes, missiles and soldiers won't provide additional bread for our families, desks for our schools, or medicine for our clinics.”

— Oscar Arias

“Nuclear arms kill many people all at once, but other weapons kill many people, little by little, every day, everywhere in the world.”

— Oscar Arias

“Our world is certainly dangerous, but it is made more dangerous, not less, by those who value profits over peace.”

— Oscar Arias

“Poverty and lack of education are ruining our planet.”

— Oscar Arias

“The absence of significant development aid has only increased the importance of trade for Central America's future.”

— Oscar Arias

“The children of the world, what they want and what they need are health clinics and schools, not tanks or armed helicopters or fighter jets.”

— Oscar Arias

“There are too many war museums.”

— Oscar Arias

“Although fostering a peaceful, prosperous and equitable hemisphere is clearly in the best interest of the United States, Washington has not always supported Central America's struggle for economic survival.”

— Oscar Arias

“An overall trend of political moderation in Latin America makes for far less interesting headlines, but it also makes for far better lives for our people.”

— Oscar Arias

“At one time in the history of the Americas, weapons and armies were associated with liberty and independence, and with new opportunities for our peoples. At one time in the history of the Americas, there were liberating armies.”

— Oscar Arias

“During my administration, our desire has been to strengthen the civilian spirit of our people. Thus, we have eliminated military ranks and salutes from our civil guard.”

— Oscar Arias

“Indeed, it is quite sad to see the United States becoming the main exporter of arms. It is quite sad to look at the U.S. government subsidizing arms exports.”

— Oscar Arias

“India, Pakistan, China, Singapore and South Korea are heavily investing in nuclear arms. Since 21st century is the century of Asia, Asian countries should be the first ones to drop this arms race.”

— Oscar Arias

It is in the U.S. interest to have a more prosperous neighbor to the south. Because if we cannot export goods, we will keep exporting people. And that's not what the U.S. wants.

— Oscar Arias

It often seems ... the human race has twittered away its existence singing an endless song - a song of waste and hatred, where there should be progress and love.

— Oscar Arias

Many developing countries continue to be burdened by high percentages of their population living in poverty. Yet, instead of addressing this root cause of conflict, many states, ironically, increase their military might in order to control increasingly desperate populations.

— Oscar Arias

On Dec. 1, 1948, after the triumph of the revolution, which insured the final victory of the will of the people expressed through elections, President Jose Figueres abolished the army in my country.

— Oscar Arias

“Peace is not a matter of prizes or trophies. It is not the product of a victory or command. It has no finishing line, no final deadline, no fixed definition of achievement.”

— Oscar Arias

“The Central American isthmus is a region of great contrasts, but also of heartening unison. Millions of men and women share dreams of freedom and progress.”

— Oscar Arias

“There is a difference between the typical politician and the statesman. A typical politician is that person who tells people what people want to hear, while the statesman tells people what people need to know.”

— Oscar Arias

“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.”

— Oscar Arias

“We had the courage to face the superpowers that wanted a military triumph for each side they supported in Central America. We told them, 'No,' and presented a peace plan.”

— Oscar Arias

“We may believe in the state's responsibility to alleviate the crushing poverty that afflicts 40 percent of Latin America's population, but most of us also affirm that there is no better cure for that poverty than a stronger, more globally integrated economy.”

— Oscar Arias

“We need a force that recognizes that only through development and liberty, through education and health care, through better priorities and wiser investments, can we achieve the stability we seek.”

— Oscar Arias

“We seek in Central America not peace alone, not peace to be followed someday by political progress, but peace and democracy, together, indivisible, an end to the shedding of human blood, which is inseparable from an end to the suppression of human rights.”

— Oscar Arias

The existence of nuclear weapons presents a clear and present danger to life on Earth. Nuclear arms cannot bolster the security of any nation because they represent a threat to the security of the human race. These incredibly destructive weapons are an affront to our common humanity, and the tens of billions of dollars that are dedicated to their development and maintenance should be used instead to alleviate human need and suffering

— Oscar Arias

“War, and the preparation for war, are the two greatest obstacles to human progress, fostering a vicious cycle of arms buildups, violence and poverty.”

— Oscar Arias

“The effect of one good-hearted person is incalculable.”

— Oscar Arias

“The more freedom we enjoy, the greater the responsibility we bear, toward others as well as ourselves.”

— Oscar Arias

“How ironic for peacemaking efforts to discover that hatred is stronger for many than love; that the longing to achieve power through military victories makes so many men lose their reason, forget all shame, and betray history.”

— Oscar Arias

“Peace is not a dream; it is hard work, and there is nothing naive, glamorous or simplistic about it.”

— Oscar Arias

“Justice and peace can only thrive together, never apart.”

— Oscar Arias

“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.”

— Oscar Arias