Nuclear Power and Non-Proliferation: The View from Brazil

This article contains a hypothetical memorandum written by a hypothetical Brazilian policymaker, together with a hypothetical draft Brazilian proposal for the establishment of an International Plutonium Storage regime. None of these materials should be interpreted as a statement of policy by any Brazilian official or by the Republic of Brazil... This article consists primarily of a hypothetical review memorandum written for Brazilian President Joao Baptista Figueiredo by a hypothetical Brazilian policymaker offering advice on two issues of immediate concern to Brazil. The first involves proposals for the establishment, under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) auspices, of an International Plutonium Storage (IPS) regime designed to prevent the stockpiling of plutonium by individual nations. The second issue involves the question of what action Brazil should take, if any, in order to strengthen the legal regime established by the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America, popularly known as the Treaty of Tlatelolco. Both issues are considered against the background of the increasing non-proliferation pressures which have been exercised against Brazil and other potential or threshold nuclear weapons states, and the need for Brazil to respond to such pressures in an optimal manner to secure its own national interests and foreign policy objectives