Fiery talk, lofty ideas at Africa-South America summit

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Flanked by the likes of Robert Mugabe from Zimbabwe and Luiz Inacio Lula Silva of Brazil, Venezuela‘s socialist leader Hugo Chavez, the summit’s host, looked in his element as he heard a plethora of proposals to promote poor nations’ global clout.

The two-day summit on Venezuela’s sweltering Margarita island, in the Caribbean, came right after the U.N. General Assembly and the G20 summit and was intended as a counterpoint to Western dominance of global institutions.

"We have to construct a new alliance, discover opportunities and help ourselves mutually," Lula said, summing up the central theme of speeches by the 28 leaders present.

On specifics, Mugabe and Chavez proposed greater cooperation on exploitation of resources like minerals and oil.

The Venezuelan, who sees himself at the forefront of a global "anti-imperialist" movement, urged his fellow leaders to form a "multi-state" corporation for mining.

"Africa and South America are rich lands, yet their peoples are poor, because they have been exploited. Let’s not allow them to keep exploiting and ransacking our lands. Those riches belong to our people," the garrulous Chavez said, giving a mini-speech himself between every speech by another leader.

"Let’s not waste a day. If we start with just two or three countries, well we’ll start with those that can." 

Source: Reuters Africa