MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil's Lula Says U.N. Needs New Mission.

President declared that the United Nations should be reformed and given a new mission to eliminate world hunger and poverty, opening a three-day meeting of socialists and social democrats from around the world.

"The only war we should be waging is against hunger and inequality. That's a war worth fighting," said Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the first elected leftist leader of South America's largest country.

The former labour union leader also said countries must eliminate trade barriers. Agricultural subsidies in Europe and the United States, for example, hurt developing countries like Brazil that want to raise domestic living standards by increasing agricultural exports, he said.

About 600 delegates from 150 political parties from Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa are gathered for the 22nd Socialist International Congress. International trade and poverty were high on the agenda for the gathering.

World leaders at the meeting include South African President Thabo Mbeki and Francois Hollande, leader of France's Socialist Party. Others scheduled to attend are Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic and former Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was scheduled to attend but transportation problems prevented him arriving on time and he cancelled the trip.

The Socialist International was founded in 1951 by a group of mainly European social democratic parties to spread its principles throughout the world.

It holds a congress every four years to review progress and recommendations on ways for member parties to advance social democratic agendas under the motto: "For a more human society. For a world more fair and just."

Former German chancellor Willy Brandt led the group from 1976 to 1992, and was succeeded by former French Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy.

Antonio Guterres, the current president and Portugal's former socialist prime minister, said Monday that the group's work is now more important than ever to counter neoliberalism ? unfettered free market capitalization that give corporations huge profits at the expense of the world's workers and poor.

"This is the response to neo-liberal, conservative agenda that sanctifies the market and sacrifices the human being," Gutteres said.

Silva's Workers Party isn't a member of the Socialist International but may join next year, said party leader Jose Genoino. The Workers Party resisted joining in the past because members considered the Socialist International too moderate.

Silva was elected last year with campaign promises to create millions of jobs in South America's largest economy and end hunger for an estimated 40 million Brazilians who don't get enough to eat.

His election initially spooked investors who feared he would put in place unconventional economic policies. He has since drawn praise for a controversial series of interest rate hikes that hurt economic growth but controlled double digit inflation.