Clivia Sotomayor Torres and Wolfgang Rudig compare nuclear development in the two Latin American countries most likely to develop nuclear weapons: Argentina & Brazil. They pose three main questions.
First, was nuclear energy necessary to meet energy needs? Here the answer is a clear no. Both countries have immense undeveloped hydropower resources and used inflated estimates offuture electricity demand in selecting the nuclear option.
Second, does either country have the capability to develop nuclear weapons? The authors present evidence that both countries are actively pursuing weapons programs. However, because of a better planned and more independent path to nuclear power and the choice of technologies more adaptable to weapons development, Argentina is in a better position than Brazil.
Third, has nuclear development led to new forms of dependence on those industrial countries acting as nuclear suppliers? Here again, Argentina's attempt at independent development has minimized its dependence while Brazil retains a close relation to Germany.
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