MEDIA REACTION: GLOBAL ECONOMY: GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS;

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000410 SIPDIS STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD DEPT PASS USTR USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP XM XR XF BR SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: GLOBAL ECONOMY: GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS; GLOBALIZATION; EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC: CHINA, ECONOMIC GROWTH/EXCHANGE RATES; SCO PAULO July 9, 2009 Title- Dangerous goodness Editorial in center-right O Estado de S. Paulo (7-9) states: "The Brazilian government should look upon the proposal for the creation of a global food inventory to defend the poor against increasing prices with distrust. The intention may appear very nice....but it is important to know who will pay for this bill and how the agriculture of the most efficient producers will be affected, starting with Brazil....While access to major markets remains limited and subsidies remain affecting price formation, the majority of the poor countries will encounter difficulties compete internationally....It is not convenient for Brazil....to discuss a plan for food security in poor countries without the guarantee of progress in Doha Round trade talks....If the Brazilian government does not keep alert, it will end up assuming, in name of the country, the guilt for all the miseries of the world." Title- The hidden face of China Editorial in center-right O Estado de S. Paulo (7-9) notes: "....We don't know what is really going on in Xinjiang, but everything suggests it is serious....The [Chinese] regime is taking it so seriously that President Hu Jintao, who was at the G8 summit in Italy, suddenly had to go back [to China]." Title- Movement at the intensive care unit, where the Doha Round patient rests Editorial in business oriented Valor Econtmico (7-9) says: "....The two main economies in this crisis, U.S. and China, have adopted the most criticized protectionist measures [so far].....A player with increasing importance on the international scene, Brazil, has been doing great in the discussions [about Doha Round trade talks]....But the country is not alone and will have to get consensus in .....Mercosul.....whose moves point in a direction contrary to the one supported by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Europe.....Brazil is completely right when it supports an effort to conclude the Doha Round Trade talks, but while it uses the microphones of a global player, Brazil must ensure that it is not going to demoralize itself due to the incapacity to follow its own prescription inside its own neighborhood." POPP