Evo Morales honored by NYC politicos

Bolivian president Evo Morales received a proclamation from several New York City Council members yesterday. The honor was given to Morales by legislators of the council's Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus in recognition of his efforts on behalf of indigenous peoples.

Morales was in the “Big Apple” in order to attend a U.N. forum on the global impact of climate change on indigenous peoples. Much like his Peruvian counterpart Alan Garcia, Morales expressed worry over the priority given by some countries to the use of biofuels:

"This is very serious," he said. "Cars come first, not human beings. But, for us, how important is life and how important are cars? So I say life first and cars second."

In his U.N. speech earlier, Morales called on the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to develop policies to curb the use of biofuels "in order to avoid hunger and misery among our people."

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been one of the leading proponents of biofuel usage and has rejected claims that they are causing spikes in global food prices.

Sources- Reuters UK, Reuters, New York Sun, The Latin Americanist

Image- BBC News