 England's PM Gordon Brown and President Lula of Brazil |
Brazil's Lula raps 'white' crisis | ||
 President Lula said white, blue-eyed people - not Indians, nor black, nor poor people - had created and spread the crisis throughout the world. 'Irrational behaviour' President Lula has long argued that poor and developing nations have been victims of mistakes made in richer countries, caused by irresponsibility or a lack of regulation in the world's banking systems. It was not a surprise, therefore, that he would return to this topic just days ahead of the crucial G20 summit in London. What was perhaps less expected was the way in which the Brazilian leader chose on this occasion to identify those to blame for the current economic situation. If England's PM, Mr Gordon Brown, appeared uncomfortable with this claim, he did his best not to show it. Questioned by a reporter, President Lula expanded his theory. "As I do not know any black or indigenous bankers," the president added. "I can only say it is not possible for this part of mankind, which is victimized more than any other, to pay for the crisis." Mr Brown said he preferred not to attribute blame to individuals, and the rest of the news conference focused on a more conventional message of unity in advance of the G20 summit in London. As well as the plan for a $100bn fund to boost world trade, there were calls for greater regulation of financial markets, strong words against protectionism and an appeal for the stalled Doha round of world trade talks to be restarted. | ||