MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“Hunger can't wait” Lula tells the world's powerful

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday told movers and shakers gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos that “hunger can't wait,” and called for both a “new economic order” and the creation of an international anti-poverty fund.

"We urgently need to come together on a world accord in favour of peace and against hunger," said Lula, who promised that his country would be signatory to such an agreement while inviting all "those here on this magic mountain of Davos to view the world with different eyes." The international fund Lula proposed to combat misery and hunger around the world would be made up of the G-7 (seven most industrialized) countries and funded by the biggest international investors.

"Building a new, more just and democratic international economic order is not only an act of generosity but also - principally - a politically intelligent stance," he said. Lula told his audience that he came from a part of Brazil where "you're lucky if you survive to the age of one" as a means of explaining that no challenge can phase him, not even that of negotiating with international financial institutions to defend the interests of his country.

Former Costa Rican President Jose Maria Figueres, who heads the Davos forum, introduced the eagerly awaited Brazilian as the statesman elected with the highest number of votes of anyone in the history of democracy.

Upon taking the lectern, Lula called for "a new agenda of shared global development." "Peoples, just like individuals, need opportunities" and if the rich countries of today are to be consistent with the triumph they have enjoyed, they cannot - must not - block the paths of developing countries," he said.

Lula, who travelled later Sunday to Berlin, from where he plans to continue on to Paris, called for "free trade, but free trade marked by reciprocity." "All our exporting efforts and our investments in technology amount to nothing if barriers keep what we produce from reaching other markets," Lula said, deriding wealthy countries that preach free trade and practice protectionism.

"Changes in the world economic order must also include greater discipline in the flow of capital, which moves about the world following simple rumors and subjective speculation that has no basis in reality," he said.

Lula received several bursts of applause from the hundreds of business magnates and politicians from around the world who filled the great hall of the Davos convention center to hear him also call for international cooperation in halting capital flight to offshore tax shelters.

"Greater discipline in this realm is essential to a frontal assault on international terrorism and crime, which are fed by money laundering," he said.

In a clear reference to a possible U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, which U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell had made appear impending during an earlier speech to the same crowd, Lula spoke out in favor of "humanistic values in the relationships between countries and peoples." "Our foreign policy is firmly rooted in the search for peace, negotiated solutions to conflicts and an unyielding defense of our national interests," he said.

"Peace is not only a moral objective, but also a logical demand," said Lula. "That's why we move to ensure that conflicts are resolved peacefully, always under the aegis of the United Nations." "Poverty, hunger and misery are often the breeding grounds of fanaticism and intolerance," he added.

The global project Lula envisions calls for the increased economic, commercial, social and political integration of South America and "increasingly positive (negotiations) with the United States, the European Union and Asian countries." he said.

Brazil has the world's largest black population outside of Africa, and Lula made special mention of that continent in his speech