Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Lula:Financial crisis reveals "perversion" of world economic system

COSTA DO SAUIPE, Brazil, Dec. 16 (Chinese media) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Tuesday the current financial turmoil reveals the "perversion" of the world's dominant economic system.

"We face an international scenario marked by new threats," he said while inaugurating the 36th summit of the Common Market of the South (Mercosur).

"The current crisis reveals the perversion of the dominant economic system, but the crisis also means opportunities for big changes," he said.

Lula said the Mercosur members are sufficiently robust in the face of the current crisis.

"Our countries have very coincidental responses to the crisis. The central concern of our governments is to defend the wages and employment of workers and social inclusion," he said.

"The development of South-South trade is essential to our development," he added.

Lula also stressed the need of imposing strict credit restrictions so as to diversify funding sources and reduce dependence on external resources.

He hailed the decisions of Argentina and Brazil to conduct bilateral trade in local currencies, thus eliminating the dollar as a currency broker, and urged other countries to join this initiative.

Heads of state or government of Mercosur members, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and the bloc's associate members attended the meeting held in Costa de Sauipe, some 110 km north of Salvador, capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia.

The leaders will discuss social protection measures in the face of the world financial crisis.

The Mercosur's associate members include Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.

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