UNGA: LatAm leaders speak at U.N.

Several Latin American leaders spoke during today’s session of the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. Here are what some of them had to say:

• Bolivia’s Evo Morales is speaking at the time of this post. He criticized the U.S. government of being hypocritical on terrorism and claimed that the recently expelled U.S. ambassador once referred to him as the “Andean Bin Laden.” Morales introduced a list of “ten commandments for the salvation of humanity” which included the defeat of capitalism and called for a world free of military intervention and imperialism.
• Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (image) addressed the global financial crisis and called on the U.N. to take prompt action. “The United Nations, as the world's largest multilateral arena, must issue a call for a vigorous response to the weighty threats we all face,” said Lula who also defended the increased use of biofuels.
• Argentina’s Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner called on Iran to extradite five former officials accused of masterminding a deadly bombing in 1994. “I ask Iran to please allow Argentine justice to judge, in public and transparent trials with all the guarantees of a democratic system, those citizens who stand accused,” said Kirchner who also emphasized Argentina’s claims of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
• Panamanian president Martin Torrijos spoke on the need for the U.N. to be more active in combating the global food crisis. “How can it be that if there’s enough food to feed the world that…millions of people suffer from malnutrition?” asked Torrijos who also called for the U.N. to undergo serious reform.
• Several regional leaders will speak on Wednesday including the presidents of Colombia, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez was scheduled to address the U.N. tomorrow yet another senior government official (Nicolas Maduro?) will do so instead.

Image- Voice of America

Sources (English)- The Latin Americanist, Bloomberg, Xinhua, Forbes, haaretz.com, The Independent

Sources (Spanish)- Univision.com, ecodiario.es