As Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday ended a regional tour in Panama, it appeared his efforts to convince his peers of the value of biofuels had not met with clear success, according to dpa. Lula has said that biofuels will be the planet's great source of energy in the future and that their production will not only contribute to the integration of Latin America and the Caribbean, but will also be a vital instrument to eradicate poverty in the region. "We have the opportunity to democratize access to new sources of energy, multiplying job and income creation and diversifying the energy matrix, bearing in mind the needs of our farmers and guaranteeing food production for all," Lula said in an article published before he left for his tour of Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Jamaica and Panama. The Brazilian president sought to counter criticism made primarily by presidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Fidel Castro of Cuba, who claim an expansion of ethanol production would lead to a drop in the production of basic foodstuffs for the region. Brazilian analysts said Lula's tour illustrated that his "biofuel democracy" generates more resistance than Chavez's methods on a tour of Uruguay, Argentina, Ecuador and Bolivia this week. Chavez, who leads an oil-rich country, conducted "oil-money diplomacy," they said. In Nicaragua, Lula stood up for the production of biofuels as "an instrument for independence and sovereignty" and managed to convince Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega of the advantages of boosting the country's production of biofuels from African oil palm. However, Ortega also warned that the expansion of production must happen "without jeopardizing the environment or encouraging monoculture." He publicly condemned the production of ethanol from corn, which he said would mean "a crime and an attack on the feeding rights of the Latin American and Caribbean peoples." The United States and Brazil together produce more than 70 per cent of the world's ethanol. The United States uses corn and Brazil relies on more energy-efficient sugar cane. The joint statement at the end of Lula's visit said he and Ortega agree "as far as the urgency of promoting the development of alternative sources of renewable energy," but there was no explicit reference to the production of biofuels, particularly ethanol. Instead, the text stressed "the importance of boosting hydroelectric and geothermal projects, whose natural sources exist in Nicaragua and are sufficient to satisfy demand in the short, medium and long terms." Honduras celebrated as "historic" the first visit of a Brazilian president, but though Lula's biofuels plan met less resistance there it still did not generate enthusiasm. Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya made it clear that he wants Brazilian state firm Petrobras to invest in oil prospecting in the Central American country. Respected Brazilian economic analyst Carlos Alberto Sardenberg said the reasons for such a lukewarm reception to Lula's biofuel plans were clear. "Everyone knows that the production of biofuel needs to increase an awful lot to supply a small part of the world market. Oil will remain irreplaceable for a long time," Sardenberg said. Brazilian experts said they think that Lula's trip to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean reaped much more modest results than those of the simultaneous tour of Hugo Chavez. Both leaders are fighting an undeclared war for influence in the region. "Chavez is still ahead in the competition with Lula for influence over Latin American partners. As the Brazilian president ended his visit to Mexico and started the Central American (portion of his) tour, the Venezuelan president - who represents the other extreme of Latin America - bought an extra 500 million dollars to Argentine treasury titles and promised Uruguay perpetual energy security," the daily O Estado de Sao Paulo wrote Friday in an editorial.
