From War to Peace (International Seminar)

This text brings together the papers from the international seminar "From War to Peace" ("De la guerra a la paz"), which was held in two sessions. The first, called "From War" ("De la guerra"), stimulated reflection around the following questions: How did 15 years of political violence change Peru? What were the key elements that made it possible to bring this confrontation to an end? What positive or negative consequences has the manner in which Sendero Luminoso was defeated brought to our destiny as a country? The panelists were Jaime de Althaus, Alfredo Barnechea, Hubert Lanssiers and Fernando Rospigliosi, who offer their perceptive and critical opinions on the subject; also participating were Rubén Zamora, former presidential candidate in El Salvador, and Cynthia McClintock, from the George Washington University. The second session, titled "To Peace" ("A la paz"), sought reflection around the following questions: To what extent will the violence of the past continue to be a determining factor in the future? What policies, attitudes and measures contribute to consolidating peace and which do not? What are the links between democracy, justice, development and peace? What are the tensions and balances among them? The panelists were Julio Cotler, Max Hernández, Francisco Morales Bermúdez and Jorge Santisteban de Noriega. Commentators included Álvaro de Soto, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Political Affairs, and Amílcar Burgos, advisor to the peace process in Guatemala.