Latin American leaders speak at General Assembly meeting

While yesterday's speeches by George W. Bush and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) stole much of the spotlight several Latin American leaders spoke in front of the world body. Here is a brief synopsis of what some of them said:

• Bolivian president Evo Morales (image) used a coca leaf as a prop during his speech which harshly criticized the “war on drugs” led by the U.S. “I invite the government of the United States to form a real alliance to combat drug trafficking and not just have excuses and pretexts to dominate us” said Morales who also spoke against neoliberal economic policies.
• Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva emphasized “hunger” as the real threat to world security. He also criticized the U.S. military incursion into Iraq and touched on the need for the U.N. Security Council to be reformed.
• Vicente Fox, president of Mexico, mentioned the perils of terrorism and emphasized the progress of democracy in Mexico (PDF document) without alluding to this year’s presidential debacle. Fox also urged countries to adopt international conventions on indigenous people and people with disabilities.
• Costa Rican president Oscar Arias suggested an end to spending on arms since military spending fosters instability and also criticized the increase in military spending throughout Latin America. Arias also urged the need to uphold international law and trade liberalization by warning that without them “we condemn ourselves to walk on the edge of a cliff…descending like Sisyphus after every peak reached.”

• Other Latin American leaders who spoke yesterday where the presidents of Honduras, Paraguay, and El Salvador (Spanish text, PDF document).

On today’s schedule, 8 Latin American leaders will address the UNGA floor. Live video and copies of their speeches can be found via the U.N.’s website on the 61^st UNGA Session.

• Morning session (starting at 10am): Panama, Chile, Venezuela, Cuba.
• Afternoon session (starting at 3pm): Guatemala, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Ecuador.

Links- Reuters AlertNet, Prensa Latina, U.N. News Centre, BBC News, ABC News (U.S.)

Image- Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Tags - United Nations, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Venezuela