Brazil defends ethanol deal at South American energy summit

Chavez has yet to publicly discuss his dispute over ethanol with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the two-day energy summit that ends Tuesday, but the Venezuelan leader has pledged to explain his objections to last month's U.S.-Brazil ethanol agreement.

Chavez, a staunch critic of U.S. President George W. Bush, has warned Brazil's deal with Washington would monopolize arable lands and starve the poor - concerns shared by his Cuban ally Fidel Castro.

But Marco Aurelio Garcia, an adviser to Silva, denied that Brazil's plan would cause food prices to skyrocket and defended it as a way of creating jobs.

"Nobody stops eating due to shortage of food. People stop eating due to lack of income. That's the fundamental issue," Garcia said. - Pravda.ru