Brazil's president defends nationalization of banks to fight financial crisis

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 5 (Chinese media) -- Countries directly suffering from the

international financial crisis should nationalize their ailing banks, Brazilian

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday.

"Will the rich countries just keep injecting money to save the banks or

will a country be brave enough to... nationalize the banks, recuperate them and

make the credit come back?" he said during a seminar on development in Brasilia.

In his speech, the president defended a more active presence of the State

in the economy, saying today, the State is not a burden, but an inductor of the

countries' growth.

Lula also criticized the international financial market, which he said has

led the directions of the world's economies in the past few years, and caused

the problems today.

He said it is unfair for poor countries and developing economies to suffer

the international financial crisis, adding that the crisis put an end to over

two decades of mistakes made "in the name of the market gods."

The recent protectionist measures taken by some countries may drag the

world into a crisis worse than the one after the World War II.

Lula reiterated that Brazil is ready to face the economic turmoil, and that

the crisis will not be solved by cutting public budget, but by in creasing

investments.

"We will defeat this crisis with investments, daring and courage," Lula

said.