At an emergency food-security summit held May 7 in Managua, 14 Latin American and Caribbean nations convened under the umbrella of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA [2]). Nicaragua [3]'s President Daniel Ortega called the food crisis an "epic problem" caused by the "tyranny of global capitalism." At the conclusion of the summit, all but two participating nations signed a joint resolution that incorporated specific language supporting ALBA. Costa Rica and El Salvador abstained from signing. (CSM [4], May 8)
Venezuela [5]'s Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro announced at the "Sovereignty and Food Security Summit" that his government would lead the region's energy-rich countries in launching an oil-for-food fund. "We will devise a formula based on the price of oil and the level of production that would allow for the creation of a special oil-for-food fund, taking into consideration the means of each country," he said. (Xinhua [6], May 7) Venezuela also offered allies $100 million to fight rising food costs. Maduro said the money would help finance an international grain bank for the region. (AP [7], May 8)
See our last posts on the food crisis [8] and Central America [9].
