Cuba links soaring food prices to unfair trade

Cuba links soaring food prices to unfair trade
By Larry Moonze in Havana, Cuba
Monday April 28, 2008 [03:59]

CUBAN Vice-President Carlos Lage has said the soaring food prices had their origin in the unfair international economic order. In his address to the extraordinary Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America and the Caribbean (ALBA) summit held in Caracas, Venezuela, Vice-President Lage said poor nations could not face the sustained increasing food prices.

He said the impact of high food prices on the large sectors of the population would be harsh.

Vice-President Lage noted that while the industrialised nations spent nearly 10 per cent of their resources on purchasing food, the poor and underdeveloped countries dedicated as much as 65 per cent to that activity.

"The current crisis finds its origin in the unfair international economic order in which developed powers dedicate huge budgets to prepare and launch wars," he said.

Lage said the United States allocated about US $500 billion annually on war.

He said as if that was not enough, there was now the irresponsible management of the US economy currently battling in recession.

"A major distortion is the fact that the United States maintains a huge fiscal deficit which the International Monetary Fund would never accept if it were for any third world nation," observed Vice-President Lage.

The summit primarily called to discuss the separatist manouvres being orchestrated by the Bolivian right-wing movement in the four-mineral rich provinces declared to support a unified Bolivian process.

The ALBA summit attended by Presidents Hugo Chavez (Venezuela), Evo Morales (Bolivia), Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua) and Cuban Vice-Presidents Carlos Lage and Esteban Lazo issued a declaration of solidarity and support to the Republic of Bolivia, its people and President Morales.

The ALBA bloc of countries (Venezuela), Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Dominica reiterated its support to the process of change unfolding within Bolivia under President Morales.

However, the summit condemned the destabilisation plans and separatist efforts sponsored by right-wing forces via a referendum vote, in violation of the constitution and Bolivian law planned for May.

The leaders reaffirmed their non-recognition of any judicial body that violates Bolivian territorial integrity and called on the international community, Latin America and the Caribbean in particular to act quickly and decisively.

President Evo Morales thanked the summit for the solidarity expressed and indicated his confidence in the social movements that brought him to power, in the face of the secessionist efforts on the part of the oligarchy which is seeking a "Yes" vote for autonomous status for the Santa Cruz region in a May 4 referendum.

The meeting also approved an agreement for the implementation of cooperative programmes in the area of food sovereignty and security.

The agreement included the sponsorship of agro-industry initiatives in the strategic areas of grains, that is rice and maize, legumes, oleaginous crops, meat and milk, as well as water and irrigation, plus the establishment of an ALBA distribution network and a food security fund with an initial capital of US $100 million.

President Chavez called for proactive measures as far as food security was concerned.

He said it was important that leaders were farsighted on delicate issue of food.

"The crisis that today hovers over humanity is evidence of the historic failure of capitalism," said President Chavez.